Tag: Hawaii wildfires

The wildfires, which destroyed the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, is already the deadliest in more than a century in modern US history…reports Asian Lite News

The death toll from the devastating wildfires in Hawaii’s Maui Island which first erupted on August 8, has increased to 110, the US state’s Governor Josh Green said.

 “Every day we are a little bit more heartbroken because we do have to report that more of our loved ones have been confirmed lost and deceased,” Xinhua news agency quoted Green as saying at a press conference late Wednesday night.

The Governor added that about 38 per cent of the burned area has been searched, while around 2,200 structures in Maui, 86 per cent of them residential, have either been completely destroyed or damaged.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said on Tuesday that he hopes searchers will have covered 85 to 90 per cent of the area by the weekend.

The wildfires, which destroyed the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, is already the deadliest in more than a century in modern US history.

About 2,000 customers remained without electricity in affected areas on the island, said the overnor.

Also on Wednesday, the White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui on August 21 “to meet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state, and local officials, in the wake of deadly wildfires on the island”.

“I remain committed to delivering everything the people of Hawaii need as they recover from this disaster,” the President said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, the Hawaiian Electric is facing a lawsuit claiming power lines blown over by high winds helped to cause the destructive Lahaina wildfire, though an official cause has not yet been determined.

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The fires have become the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii’s history…reports Asian Lite News

The death toll from Hawaii’s Maui wildfires surged to 80 as the search teams sifted through the smoking blazes of Lahaina town. The officials are determined to find out how the inferno spread so rapidly through the historic resort area with so little warning, reported Al Jazeera.

Hawaii’s Attorney-General on Friday said that she will conduct a probe into how the authorities responded and acted to the deadly wildfires that have taken the lives of at least 80 people and have left 1,418 people at emergency evacuation shelters.

The office of Attorney-General Anne Lopez said in a statement, “The Department of the Attorney-General will be conducting a comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during, and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawaii islands this week.”

The fires have become the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii’s history and have surpassed the Tsunami that killed 61 people on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1960, reported Al Jazeera.

This week at least three fires have erupted, caused by dry conditions, hot temperatures and strong winds from a passing hurricane.

However, for the first time, the residents of Lahaina were permitted to return to their homes to assess the damage caused by fires.

Moreover, according to the officials, the search teams with cadaver dogs could still find more dead from the fire that burnt 1000 buildings and left thousands homeless. They added that it will require many years and billions of dollars to rebuild, Al Jazeera reported.

Further information revealed that the victims of the fire had died while trying to rescue them from the fast-moving blaze.

The island however includes emergency sirens which are supposed to warn of natural disasters and other threats but they did not work during the fire.

Even after three days of the disaster, it is still unclear whether some residents got any warning before the fire blazed their homes.

Referring to the warning sirens, Hawaii Governor Josh Green told CNN, “I authorised a comprehensive review this morning to make sure that we know exactly what happened and when.”

US President Joe Biden spoke with Hawaii Governor Josh Green on Friday after the latter completed a survey of destruction across Maui.

White House in a statement said, “The Governor provided the President with a firsthand update and assessment of Hawaii’s latest needs, and thanked the President for the support of FEMA and other federal agencies,” CNN reported.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden declared Hawaii wildfires a “major disaster” and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas impacted by the wildfires since August 8. Biden’s action makes federal funding available to impacted people in Maui County.

A White House statement said, “Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Hawaii and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires beginning on August 8, 2023, and continuing.”

The assistance announced by Biden includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help people and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, according to the White House statement. (ANI)

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