2023-08-11 00:51:57
Pacific Ocean
Hawaii fire death toll reaches at least 53
The governor of Hawaii, the devastating fires that devastated the island of Maui on Wednesday might have made more than 60 victims.
Updated11 August 2023, 02:51
The town of Lahaina, Maui has been virtually wiped off the map.
The death toll from the devastating fires that nearly leveled a tourist town in the Hawaiian archipelago continues to rise and has now reached at least 53 dead, according to authorities, who fear that the disaster is one of the deadliest in the world. history of this American state.
Maui County said in a statement that it had identified “17 additional deaths” at midday. “This brings the death toll to 53 victims.” This toll might increase further: it might “far exceed” the 60 victims, warned the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, on CNN. The fires would then become the worst disaster experienced by the archipelago since it became the 50th state of the United States in 1959. A press conference is scheduled later Thursday to take stock of the relief operations.
Fueled by strong winds, fed by the force of Hurricane Dora which is currently passing through the Pacific Ocean, the fires mainly affect the island of Maui and to a lesser extent that of Hawaii.
The resort town of Lahaina, on Maui’s west coast, was virtually burned to the ground. The governor, who went there, described scenes of “total devastation” in this historic city, the former capital of the kingdom of Hawaii in the 19th century, “80%” destroyed. The authorities now identify “more than 1,700 buildings” destroyed or damaged by the flames, he said.
“War Zone”
In Lahaina, the fire spread so quickly that regarding 100 residents jumped into the sea to escape the flames, according to the Coast Guard.
On the spot, the locals count the dead bodies and grow impatient. “We’re trying to save lives and I don’t feel like we’re getting the help we need,” Lahaina resident Kekoa Lansford said. “We still see dead bodies floating in the water and on the dikes,” he added.
President Joe Biden has signed a natural disaster declaration, which will unlock significant federal aid to fund relief, emergency shelter and reconstruction efforts.
Thousands of people were evacuated from the disaster areas to emergency centers or Maui’s main airport. The authorities are currently asking tourists to leave the island and are organizing buses to exfiltrate them.
“Unusual”
According to the PowerOutage site, around 11,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity on Thursday in the archipelago.
While the fires aren’t unusual in Hawaii, they “are burning over a larger area than usual, and fire behavior is extreme, with rapid spread and high flames,” said Dr Thomas Smith. , Associate Professor of Environmental Geography at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
He spoke of conditions conducive to the conflagration this year: “particularly parched” vegetation on Maui, below-average rainfall this spring and higher than usual temperatures.
Not to mention the impact of the hurricane, yet located hundreds of kilometers to the southwest, and a depression to the west, near Japan, which help to feed the winds, he said. “It’s unusual for this time of year” and it’s causing “very fast fires,” he concluded.
“These fires and all the severe storms we continue to see are undoubtedly caused by what is happening with rising temperatures around the world,” a White House spokesperson said. “And we have to take this seriously,” John Kirby told CNN.
(AFP)
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