- The number of dead after the devastating bush and forest fires on the island of Maui in the US state of Hawaii has risen to 67.
- This was announced by the Maui district late Friday evening (local time).
- Meanwhile, clearing and clearing operations continued.
Several fires broke out on Maui and the neighboring island of Hawaii on Tuesday, which were quickly increased by strong winds with speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour.
Legend:
Local residents amid the ruins of Lahaina, Maui.
Keystone/EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT
“The number of deaths will undoubtedly continue to rise,” said Hawaii’s Gov. Josh Green on Friday. So far, victims have been identified who had fled their homes at the time of their death. Several US media reported that rescue teams are only gradually able to penetrate the interior of destroyed buildings.
winds are getting weaker
However, the winds from earlier in the week died down. Green said, according to CNN, that he had ordered an investigation into the authorities’ initially slow response. Among other things, there had been criticism because no warning sirens had been used on Maui at the beginning.
The small town of Lahaina in the west of the island was hit particularly hard. According to Green, the first residents were able to return to their homes on Friday. But he warned about the condition of the houses. “You will see a level of destruction like never before in your life,” said the governor on the television channel KHON2.
Criticism of the timing of the evacuation
There had been criticism in Lahaina 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 were 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.
According to CNN, about 1,700 buildings on Maui have been destroyed. The power supply was restored for many residents of the island on Friday. According to the website poweroutage.us, around 11,000 households were still without electricity in the morning, but by the evening this number had dropped to around 4,500 households.
Popular tourist town
Maui has an area of approximately 1900 square kilometers. Almost 13,000 people live in the city of Lahaina in the west of the island, which was particularly badly affected by the fires. According to the city’s retail association, it is visited by around two million tourists every year.