The death toll from the fires in Hawaii, the deadliest in more than a century in the United States, has now reached 99 dead. But it is still only very provisional.
“In the next ten days, this number could double”estimated Monday, August 14, the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green on CNN, announcing the discovery of three additional corpses. “We are preparing for many tragic stories”he warned.
Rescue “probably find ten to twenty people a day, until they’re done.” And it will probably take ten days. It’s impossible to guess, really”he explained.
Because the twenty sniffer dogs currently searching the rubble of the city of Lahaina, almost razed by the flames, still have a lot of ground to cover.
“Right now they’re moving street by street, block by block, between cars, and soon they’ll start entering buildings”explained on NBC, Monday, Jeff Hickman, director of public affairs for the Hawaii Department of Defense.
Most of the bodies found so far have been near the waterfront or in the ocean, where dozens of residents threw themselves to escape the flames, according to the governor. “We are overwhelmed by the circumstances of climate change and tragedy at the same time”lamented Mr. Green.
Unrecognizable corpses
In Lahaina, 12,000 inhabitants and former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the fire was so intense that it melted the metal. The corpses are unrecognizable and the police are calling on relatives of missing persons to take a DNA test to help identify the victims.
The authorities still identify 1,300 missing, according to the governor. A figure that is falling as communications are gradually restored on the island of Maui and residents are able to locate their loved ones.
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The circumstances of these dazzling fires, the cause of which is not yet known, remain unclear. They took the population by surprise, which many blame the authorities for. This fuels resentment among residents, who are not all allowed to return to the area around Lahaina, controlled by roadblocks.
“The lack of communication is abysmal, people are very angry and frustrated, and the situation is only getting worse”told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Pastor Stephen Van Bueren, whose church was destroyed.
During fires, official alerts on television, radio and telephones proved useless for many residents without electricity or network. The alarm sirens remained silent. “We believe the mermaids were essentially immobilized by the extreme heat” who ruled Maui, Mr. Green said. An investigation was opened to examine the crisis management.
According to New York Timessome firefighters battling the Lahaina Fire were also delayed by dry or very low flow hydrants. “There has been a critical impact on available water” because the water system was overstretched, recognized on Monday an official of the American fire prevention administration, Tonya Hoover. Hawaiian lawmaker Jill Tokuda has previously acknowledged that authorities have “underestimated the dangerousness and the speed of the fire”. Electricity supplier Hawaiian Electric is also the subject of a complaint.
Residents accuse the company of having ‘kept its power lines inexcusably live amid forecasts of high fire risk’ and strong winds, fed by a hurricane passing southwest of Maui, likely to bring down utility poles.
Feed and house the survivors
Extremely high winds and dry conditions on Maui contributed significantly to the rapid spread of multiple fires on the island last week, which are still burning despite the efforts of firefighters to contain them.
A tropical storm should pass south of the archipelago overnight from Wednesday to Thursday but should not have “virtually no impact”, according to the US Weather Services. Light winds are expected throughout the week, with gusts of up to 40 km/h.
In addition to the search for the bodies, the other challenge of Maui is now to feed and house the thousands of survivors. In Kahului, on the north coast of the island, several renowned chefs cook 9,000 meals a day, helped by an army of volunteers.
“Some of our cooks have lost their homes [dans l’incendie] and they are there with us, cooking for the people. It gives you an idea of what it’s like, this ‘Aloha’ spirit”one of them, Sheldon Simeon, told AFP in reference to this Hawaiian philosophy of life.
According to the governor, an accommodation program mobilizing 500 hotel rooms is now operational to accommodate the survivors of the fire. Authorities are also working to turn 1,400 Airbnb homes into accommodations.
The reconstruction will take a long time. For the Lahaina fire alone, its cost is estimated at 5.52 billion dollars (about 5 billion euros) by the federal authorities.