Washington, Aug 15 (EFE).- The US Government indicated Tuesday that it has sent a forensic team to Hawaii to help in the identification of the victims caused by the fire, which at the moment rises to 99.
Director of the Office of Management Response for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Jonathan Greene, He indicated in a telematic press conference that the team is made up of specialists from different disciplines, such as laboratory and radiology technicians.
In total, his shipment amounts to 75 emergency personnel deployed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Greene He pointed out that the different experts will support the collection of DNA from the victims.
That same type of specialists were sent in catastrophes like Hurricane Irma in 2017, who hit the Virgin Islands, Florida and other southeastern states of the United States, or the Sandy in 2012, which has killed 233 people in eight countries since the Caribbean to Canada, 159 of them in the United States.
The fires that have devastated the island of Maui during the last week have caused at least 99 dead, although that figure is likely to increase, because only one 25% of the affected area.
On the ground there 380 workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate the response to the disaster.
Federal efforts are also focused on providing the population with funds that allow them to meet their most immediate needs, such as food, water or medicine. For this purpose, they will receive a single payment of 700 dollars and so far they have already been distributed about $630,000 in this type of aid.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Tuesday that he will travel to Hawaii “as soon as possible” to assess the damage caused and stressed that he does not want to interfere with rescue operations due to the usual security measures that his presence entails, which include blocking streets to traffic for hours.
