MADRID, (EUROPA PRESS) – The number of deaths from forest fires in the US archipelago of Hawaii increased to 55, according to the authorities of Maui County, on the island of the same name.
“While the efforts of the Fire Department continue, 17 new deaths have been confirmed today by the active fire in Lahaina. This brings the death toll to 53 people,” indicates a statement released through the local government website.
Minutes before, the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, warned that the number of fatalities from forest fires could exceed the worst disaster in the archipelago, the 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people.
“I’ll tell you that by the time this whole disaster is described, I’m sure there will be dozens of people who have lost their lives and billions of dollars of property that has been destroyed,” Green said.
According to local authorities, more than 14,000 people were evacuated from the island of Maui during the day on Wednesday, while about 14,500 are being transferred to other nearby islands, CNN has collected.
Richard Bissen, the mayor of Lahaina, the former capital of the archipelago and one of the most touristic areas of Hawaii, estimated on the eve that 80 percent of the city has been completely destroyed due to the flames, fanned by Hurricane Dora.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has signed the formal declaration of disaster in the state of Hawaii to collaborate in the emergency derived from the wave of forest fires that began on Tuesday, while his ‘number two’, Kamala Harris, has confirmed the mobilization at the federal level to help the authorities and inhabitants of Hawaii, and has applauded the “heroic” work of the emergency services.
