The balance sheet continues to grow. While on Wednesday August 9, 2023, serious fires spread in the town of Lahaina, located on the island of Maui in Hawaii, local authorities had then reported 55 dead. Monday, August 14, 2023, it is now 96 people killed who have been countedas relayed France Info. And according to the governor of the state, the situation could still worsen. According to Police Chief John Pelletier, “none of them know the extent yet” damages. He also said sniffer dogs were currently searching for missing persons who could number in the hundreds. According to the chief of police, a large area still remained to be covered, stating more precisely: “We’re going as fast as we can. But just so you know: 3% is what the dogs searched”. On Saturday August 12, 2023, Jeremy Greenberge, an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told MSNBCthat the “fire was incredibly devastating”. “These types of fires can spread a distance equivalent to a football field in twenty seconds or less”he said as an example.
Fire management questioned
While an investigation was opened, many criticisms have fallen on the authorities, calling into question their management of the fire crisis. Indeed, as our colleagues from France Info, “the fire alarm sirens would not have been activated despite multiple fire starts”. Moreover, Jill Tokuda, the congresswoman for Hawaii, admitted that “the authorities had underestimated the dangerousness and the speed of the fire”. For her part, the Democratic Senator of the archipelago, Mazie Hirono, affirmed “not wanting to try to find excuses for this tragedy”in an interview with CNNWednesday, August 9, 2023. Still according to France Info, 2,207 buildings, including many residential ones, were ravaged or partially damaged. Additionally, the cost of rebuilding the city of Lahaina is estimated at $5.52 billion, according to the federal emergency management agency. It is one of the worst natural disasters that the American volcanic archipelago has ever known.