The fires that are affecting the Hawaii these days have caused 36 dead and ravaged the island of Maui: here the town of Lahaina it was completely reduced to ashes by the flames and over 11,000 people were evacuated. According to reconstructions provided by local authorities, the speed and strength of the flames was increased by the forts gusts of wind of a hurricane which grazed the island in conjunction with the fires. To save themselves and escape the flames, many people were forced to jump in mare and the Coast Guard reported they have saved about ten people at sea.
“We expected rain, we expected floods, we couldn’t expect a hurricane that didn’t hit our islands to cause these kinds of fires,” the lieutenant governor said. Sylva Lukeimplying that the authorities are not ready to address the extent of the disaster. Only in Maui do they count at least 14 thousand people without electricity and, according to reports from the teams carrying out the rescue efforts, the number of victims could increase in the next few hours. Maui County Mayor, Richard Bissen, made it known that search and rescue operations are still ongoing and it is not known “what will happen to the number of victims”. Also, a Honolulu have been accepted further 2100 people and several individuals were hospitalized due to their burns.
Rescue teams are working tirelessly on the island of Maui, especially in Lahaina, where many buildings have been engulfed in flames and efforts are being made to establish the extent of the disaster. The locality in this period is crowded with tourists and it is estimated that there are on the island at least 12 thousand inhabitantsincluding 2 thousand displaced. Luke urged tourists not to go near the island, saying it’s “not a safe place” at the moment. Meanwhile a Oahu is under construction a reception centre for about 4,000 tourists who have to leave Maui. The president of the United States Joe Biden announced that it has made all federal resources available to Hawaii to fight the wildfires and aid recovery.