- On the island of Maui in the US state of Hawaii, the number of deaths after the devastating fires continues to rise. So far 93 deaths have been registered.
- According to the media, it is the deadliest wildfire in recent US history.
- Meanwhile, the debate about shortcomings in civil protection is also getting louder.
The small town of Lahaini was hit particularly hard, with many streets looking like a war zone. Questions are getting louder as to whether the authorities could not have reacted much better to the accident.
“There is no transparency,” said professional surfer Kai Lenny in a video on Instagram. “The government doesn’t tell us what’s happening, so nobody knows how we can help.” Lenny said he himself provided people with the bare essentials with a jet ski across the water because many roads were closed.
The civil protection agency FEMA said on Saturday that around a dozen federal agencies are busy with relief measures for the fire victims. 150 FEMA employees, including search and rescue teams, are already on Maui, with more on the way.
Evacuated too late?
There was also criticism that no warning sirens were said to have been used on Maui at the beginning. The rescue work was also made more difficult by the fact that Lahaina in the north and south can only be reached via a large access road.
Legend:
Local residents amid the ruins of Lahaina, Maui.
Keystone/EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT
In the city, which had around 13,000 inhabitants before the accident, there had also been complaints that an evacuation might have been ordered too late – according to the “New York Times” on Facebook, there were reports from the authorities on Thursday that the fires are under control. Fire chief Bradford Ventura later said at a press conference that the fires had spread surprisingly quickly and that it had previously been “almost impossible” to order evacuations quickly enough.
Legend:
The governor of the state of Hawaii, Josh Green, fears further deaths (August 12, 2023).
EPO/ETIENNE LAURENT
Gov. Josh Green acknowledged that emergency supplies are getting off to a slow start because it is difficult to bring supplies to Maui from other islands. The situation is unprecedentedly devastating. Green said he had ordered an investigation into the authorities’ initially sluggish response, according to CNN.
Over 2000 damaged or destroyed buildings
Meanwhile, the fire department is still working to contain fires in various regions of the island, the government of the Maui district said on Saturday night (local time). Around 2,200 buildings in the district were damaged or destroyed by the fire, according to updated figures from the Pacific Disaster Center and the US Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA.
Initial estimates assume around 5.5 billion dollars (approx. 4.8 billion Swiss francs) for the reconstruction there.
In addition to the fires in western Maui, fires broke out in other regions of the island and on the neighboring island of Hawaii at the beginning of the week, which had spread quickly due to strong winds at speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour.