The death toll from the fire that devastated the island of Maui, in Hawaii, has risen to 96 confirmed victims: the county of the same name announced this morning, as reported Nbc News. A thousand missing. It is estimated that the damages amount to 5.5 billion dollars, but those to the ecosystem are still to be calculated. The controversy over the actions of the authorities continues: according to the first reconstructions, the warning notices on cell phones would have started late while the sirens – whose system is considered among the most developed in the United States – would not have been triggered. An investigation has indeed been opened.
Lahaina, a historic coastal city on the island of Maui, was nearly destroyed by the inferno
From Lahaina, the most affected town of over 12,000 inhabitants, apocalyptic images arrive: almost 3,000 buildings destroyed, ruins and ash everywhere, even the centuries-old and iconic “banyan tree”, the largest in the USA and one of the largest in the world, has been scarred. with 20 meters in height, 400 meters in circumference and 16 trunks.
Hawaii, the desolating images from above of the paradise destroyed by flames
It is the deadliest fire in US history since 1918
The fire on the island of Maui in Hawaii, with a provisional death toll of 96, is the deadliest blaze in US history since 1918, when 453 people died in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The death toll in the tropical archipelago has surpassed that of the Camp Fire, the 2018 wildfire in California that virtually wiped the small town of Paradise off the map and killed 86 people. But the count of the dead has just begun and the authorities predict that the final toll will be much heavier.
Non-stop searches
According to the authorities, there are still a thousand missing and only 3% of the area devastated by the flames has so far been searched, even with the help of rescue dogs. The Maui police chief, John Pelletier, has invited the population to undergo DNA tests, in order to speed up the difficult identifications. Only a couple have been carried out so far, due to the devastating power of the fires. “The remains we’re finding are from a fire that melted the metal. When we pick them up… they fall apart,” explained John Pelletier.
Hawaii, some residents return to their homes in the area affected by the fire
The controversy over the work of the authorities
Meanwhile, local and state authorities are at the center of controversy over the response to the fires that have destroyed above all the city of Lahina. Indeed, the environmental disaster would have exposed the inefficiencies of the emergency service. According to the first reconstructions, the warning alerts on cell phones would have started late while the sirens – whose system is considered among the most developed in the United States and the largest in the world – would not have been triggered. According to reports, none of the sirens went off when the first fire broke out on Tuesday. The State of Hawaii reportedly sent fifteen alerts to cell phones using its built-in system, but perhaps not in a timely manner. The governor, Democrat Josh Green, admitted he wasn’t sure if Maui’s warning system worked properly. “The speed of propagation of the flames could have damaged the infrastructure and rendered the alarm system unusable,” he said.
The investigation opened by the federal prosecutor of Hawaii Anne Lopez also focuses on the efficiency of the alarm systems. “My department – she explained – is busy understanding what decisions were made before and during the fires and making the results public.”
Biden: promises of aid and visit to Hawaii
President Joe Biden has promised aid and has not ruled out flying to Hawaii, the overwhelmingly Democratic state where his former boss Barack Obama was born. The tragedy of the tropical archipelago was also recalled by the Pope at the Angelus: “I wish to assure you of my prayers for the victims of the fires which devastated the island of Maui in Hawaii”.
As of yesterday, the Farnesina opened an assistance desk at Maui’s international airport with staff from the consulate general in San Francisco for the approximately 60 Italians present in the area.
previous disasters
Last year there were 18 billion-dollar disasters caused by extreme weather conditions, driven by climate change, costing the US 165 billion dollars, in addition to the deaths of at least 474 people. This year’s bill still lacks the hurricane season, which experts predict will be higher than normal for warming oceans. This is why many are asking Biden to proclaim a “national climate emergency”.