death toll continues to climb, tonight maui s top emergency management official has resigned citing health reasons, herman andaya has stepped down amid withering criticism he literally failed to sound the alarm. do you regret not sounding the sirens? i do not. reporter: as the nation s deadliest fire in more than a century ripped through lahaina, andaya never activated the emergency sirens most often used for tsunami warnings saying had he done so, he feared the public would have moved towards the fire in the hills the state of hawaii will tell you that sirens have not been used for brush fires. reporter: but maui county s website lists wildfires are among the very hazards sirens can be used for. the siren i instant, immediate, it s going off, something is going on. i m alert. it s sort of difficult to believe that you would be compelled to run toward flames. reporter: amid the growing frustration, a new nbc news review of
10,000-foot peaks in desert areas of the southwest. that s a recipe for disaster that s why they re saying, this could be catastrophic for some areas. now, the storm itself is at its peak intensity and will weaken after this and move from what has been really warm water, almost like 90-degree water, and then heading over water that s going to be in the 80s and eventually the 70s, and that s when it gets cool enough for the storm to significantly weaken again, sunday evening, this storm will be flying, moving at like 30 miles per hour when it goes through southern california, this will be in and out in a hurry, but it s going to leave its mark especially in the mountain outside of san diego near palm springs. that s where i m afraid a foot of rain, communities cut off, landslides, mudslides all possible. we ll be watching throughout the weekend. thank you, bill. ten days after the wildfire disaster in maui, the island s top emergency official has resigned after criticism of his deci
long symbolized the power of new beginnings and new possibilities. kelly joining us now from camp david, and, kelly, both visiting leaders acknowledged the hawaii fires reporter: they did, lester japan and south korea are each donating $2 million in relief efforts for maui, and on china, president biden says he expects to speak with xi jinping again this fall. lester all right kelly o donnell, thank you. with the first republican primary debate days away, there s word former president trump will skip it as we learn more about the timing of his expected surrender in atlanta blayne alexander joins us now blayne, what more do we know? reporter: well, lester, mr. trump will not be on that debate stage next week. that s according to two people familiar with his thinking. instead, he s seeking a sit-down interview with tucker carlson. now, this would be a snub to both the rnc and fox news, which is broadcasting this debate