2023-08-14 03:35:27
The situation with the devastating forest and bush fires in the US state of Hawaii has eased somewhat. Authorities in the Maui district reported on Sunday afternoon (local time) that larger and larger parts of the fire were under control. A particularly disastrous fire around the small town of Lahaina in the west of the island is now 85 percent contained, inland Maui around Kula the fire is 100 percent under control and the extinguishing work is progressing.
The number of confirmed dead was 93 in the late afternoon and morning, and more than 2,000 buildings were devastated. According to US media, the fires are the deadliest forest fires in US history for at least 100 years. It is estimated that more than $5.5 billion (€5.0 billion) will be spent on Maui’s reconstruction. The discovery of more dead is to be feared, Hawaii’s governor Josh Green said on Saturday (local time).
The small town of Lahaina, which had a population of 13,000 before the accident, was hit particularly hard. Many of the streets there look like they are in a war zone. Emergency shelters have been set up in schools and hospitals for hundreds of victims. The debate continues as to whether the authorities could not have reacted much better to the accident. Residents wonder if they were warned too late and why it is taking so long for help to arrive.
There had been criticism that no warning sirens were said to have been used on Maui at the beginning. The rescue work was also made more difficult by the fact that the north and south of Lahaina can only be reached via a large access road.
The civil protection authority FEMA had already declared on Saturday that around a dozen federal agencies were busy with relief measures for the fire victims. 150 employees, including search and rescue teams, are already on Maui, and more are on the way.
“I understand why there is anger because we are in a state of shock and loss,” Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono told CNN on Sunday. “As far as I can see, the authorities are there.”
In addition to the fires in western Maui, fires broke out in other regions of the island and on the neighboring island of Hawaii earlier in the week, which had spread quickly due to strong winds at speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour. With an area of around 1,900 square kilometers, the Hawaiian island is about half the size of the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca.
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