The flames ravage the American archipelago. Since Wednesday, violent fires have killed at least six people, announced the mayor of Maui, Richard Bissen. A state of emergency has been declared and evacuations ordered.
“I am sad to report that just before speaking, it was confirmed that there had been six deaths,” Richard Bissen said at a press conference, recalling that this toll was not temporary, as search and rescue operations continued on the island.
The fires also sparked apocalyptic scenes in Hawaii: residents jumped into the ocean to escape the fires, others watched in terror as the flames surrounded the vehicle they were fleeing in. A state of emergency has been declared and evacuations ordered.
Fueled by strong winds, the fires on the islands of Maui and Hawaii have devoured homes and businesses, particularly in the tourist town of Lahaina, according to testimonies and videos circulating on social networks.
So basically the entire island is on fire. Somehow where I am, the driest part of the island, has been so far spared. This is Lahaina town, the popular tourist town on the island. (Not my video.) Apartments and stores have burned down. pic.twitter.com/msvj6lPgIg
According to Vice Governor Sylvia Luke, the hospital system on Maui was “overwhelmed” with patients suffering from burns or inhaling smoke. “We are already in contact with other hospital networks to ease the burden,” she added on CNN. Contacted by AFP, his office was unable to specify the number of people affected.
Complicating matters, the 911 emergency call service was not working in some affected areas. “911 does not work. Mobile phone services don’t work…and that’s part of the problem. Maui County can’t communicate with the locals,” said Sylvia Luke.
The situation is “very serious and dramatic”, she added. Evacuations are “in progress,” she continued, unable to say how many people were affected. The National Guard has been activated and was already assisting police, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
In the face of these raging fires, “people are jumping in the water to avoid the fires,” said a senior military official for the State of Hawaii, General Kenneth Hara, to the Hawaii News Now media.
The Coast Guard said it rescued 12 people in waters off Lahaina and was dispatching ships to Maui. A witness interviewed by Hawaii News Now claimed that “every boat in Lahaina Harbor (had) burned down.”
“It looks like a movie, a war movie,” Chrissy Lovitt said. Tiare Lawrence, originally from Lahaina, said with emotion that she had not heard from her little brother or her stepfather.
“Everyone I know in Lahaina, their homes burned down,” she told Hawaii News Now, describing the videos she received as “apocalyptic.”
The fact that the fires were indirectly fueled by strong winds exacerbated by Hurricane Dora is “unprecedented” because such weather events usually bring rain and flooding to Hawaii, the vice governor said. explain. Nearly 15,000 homes and businesses were without electricity in the archipelago, said the PowerOutage site.
