The balance of fatalities from the fires in Hawaii, the deadliest in more than a century in the United States, reaches 93 people and according to the authorities could increase, amid harsh criticism of the management of the crisis by the authorities .
Only a small part of the burned area could be raked in search of victims. “None of us yet know the magnitude” of the disaster, acknowledged Maui Police Chief John Pelletier.
The fire impacted or destroyed more than 2,200 structures in the coastal town of Lahaina, in West Maui, reported the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which estimates losses of $5.5 billion in that area alone.
The heat from the flames was so strong that recovered bodies are difficult to identify, Pelletier explained. Only two of them could be identified.
The fire “melted the metal”, exemplified the police chief, who called the relatives of the disappeared people to undergo DNA tests to try to identify the remains found.
critics
Criticism for the reaction of the authorities increases. Residents complain about the lack of warnings about the arrival of the fire, which trapped dozens of people in the tourist town of Lahaina.
“The mountain behind us caught fire, and nobody warned us!” Vilma Reed, 63, claimed.
Reed, whose home was destroyed, said they fled the flames with nothing to wear and now depends on donations and the kindness of strangers.
“This is my house now,” the woman said, pointing to the car in which they slept with her daughter, her grandson and two cats.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced that she will undertake “a comprehensive review of critical decision-making and current policies.”
Lahaina, a town of more than 12,000 people that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, was left in ruins and its shops, hotels, homes and restaurants were reduced to ashes.
A majestic fig tree, which for 150 years stood at the center of the town, survived the flames, but lost its leaves and its huge bare branches were charred and covered in soot.
We underestimated “the speed of fire”
Maui County reported at least 93 deaths on Saturday night, in a balance that is gradually rising.
The governor, Josh Green, had warned that the death toll would rise.
“It will continue to increase. We want to prepare people for that,” he said.
This is the deadliest fire in the United States since 1918, when 453 people died in Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the nonprofit research group National Fire Protection Association.
Hawaii Democratic lawmaker Jill Tokuda told CNN the flames took them by surprise.
“We underestimated the lethality and the rate of fire,” he said.
“No one saw it coming. That’s all,” said police chief John Pelletier on his side.
The governor defended the work of the authorities and said that the situation was complicated because several fires broke out at the same time, fueled by strong winds.
“With that storm, we doubt we could have done anything more with such a raging and fast fire,” he said.
The causes of the fire are not yet known.
Maui experienced power outages, preventing residents from receiving alerts on their phones.
Lahaina residents reported not hearing warning sirens, and many found out the fire was just around the corner when they saw their neighbors running and screaming.
“We have to guarantee that we will do better next time,” asked lawmaker Tokuda.
This disaster in Hawaii comes after North America suffered several extreme weather events this summer, from record fires in Canada and an extensive heat wave that hit the southwestern United States and Mexico.
Europe and parts of Asia also suffered from heat waves, floods and huge fires.
Scientists say that human-caused climate change exacerbates natural disasters, making them more common.
The fires devastated more than 800 hectares on two islands of the archipelago and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
The fires started early Tuesday morning and their rapid progress endangered more than 35,000 people in various locations on the island of Maui, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency reported.
