The human toll from the fires in Hawaii has now reached 99 dead, according to a count released Monday, August 14. “Over the next ten days, that number could double,” Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned CNN, announcing the discovery of three additional bodies. Because the sniffer dogs currently searching the rubble of the town of Lahaina, almost razed by the flames, still have a lot of ground to cover.
Most of the bodies found so far have been near the waterfront or in the ocean, where dozens of residents threw themselves to escape the flames, according to the governor.
“We are overwhelmed by the circumstances of climate change and tragedy at the same time,” said Josh Green. In Lahaina, a population of 12,000 and the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the fire was so intense that it melted metal. The corpses are unrecognizable and the police are calling on relatives of missing persons to take a DNA test to help identify the victims.
The authorities still identify 1,300 missing, according to the governor. A figure that is falling as communications are gradually restored on the island of Maui and residents are able to locate their loved ones.
The circumstances of these dazzling fires, the cause of which is not yet known, remain unclear. They took the population by surprise, which many blame the authorities for. “You want to know when we knew there was a fire?” When he arrived in front of the house! Vilma Reed told AFP. Like many residents, she received no alerts or evacuation orders, due to a series of anomalies.
The sirens, used in particular for tsunamis, remained silent. Official alerts on television, radio and telephones were useless for residents without electricity or network. According to The New York Times, some firefighters battling the Lahaina Fire were also delayed by dry or very low flow hydrants.
“There was a critical impact on the available water,” as the water system was overstretched, US Fire Administration official Tonya Hoover said Monday.
An investigation was opened to examine the crisis management. Hawaiian lawmaker Jill Tokuda has previously acknowledged that authorities had “underestimated the dangerousness and speed of the fire”. Electricity supplier Hawaiian Electric is also the subject of a complaint. Residents blame the company for “inexcusably keeping its power lines live when forecasts predicted a high risk of fire” and strong winds, fed by a hurricane passing southwest of Maui, likely to knock down electric poles.
Extremely high winds and dry conditions on Maui contributed significantly to the rapid spread of multiple fires on the island last week, which are still burning despite the efforts of firefighters to contain them. A tropical storm is expected to pass south of the archipelago overnight Wednesday to Thursday but should have “virtually no impact”, according to the US Weather Services (NWS). Light winds are expected throughout the week, with gusts up to 40 km/h.
These fires come in the middle of a summer marked by extreme events on the planet, linked to global warming according to experts, including mega forest fires in Canada. In addition to the search for the bodies, the other challenge of Maui is now to feed and house the thousands of survivors.
In Kahului, on the north coast of the island, several renowned chefs prepare 9,000 meals a day, helped by an army of volunteers. “Some of our cooks lost their homes [in the fire] and they are there with us, cooking for people. It gives you an idea of ??what it’s like, this “Aloha” spirit, “said one of them, Sheldon Simeon, to AFP, in reference to this Hawaiian philosophy of life.
According to the governor, an accommodation program mobilizing 500 hotel rooms is now operational to accommodate the survivors of the fire. The authorities are also working to transform 1,400 Airbnb units into accommodation. The reconstruction will take a long time. The cost of the Lahaina fire alone is estimated at $5.52 billion by federal authorities.
