“It’s like a war zone”: Hawaii counts its dead by the dozen, after the worst fires in its history

The death toll from the devastating fires that nearly leveled a tourist town in the Hawaiian archipelago has reached at least 55 and is likely to rise, authorities say, making it one of the deadliest disasters in the world. history of this American state. This tragic number will probably increase further and could well exceed 60 victims, according to Governor Josh Green. “This is the biggest natural disaster in the history of the state of Hawaii,” he insisted Thursday to the press.

Thousands of completely burnt out buildings

All of the victims found so far died in a fire that nearly burned Lahaina, Maui’s tourist hotspot, to ashes, authorities confirmed. The island of Hawaii was also affected by smaller fires, which are now under control.

An AFP photographer was able to fly over Lahaina on Thursday: his images show thousands of completely charred buildings by the ocean. Often no walls have survived, their former location is simply covered with a pile of grayish ash. This historic city, former capital of the kingdom of Hawaii in the 19th century, is “80%” destroyed, estimated the governor. Fueled by violent winds, fueled by the force of Hurricane Dora which is currently passing through the Pacific Ocean, the fires spread so quickly that the population was taken aback: a hundred inhabitants threw themselves into the sea ​​to escape the flames, according to the coast guard.

Biden declares a state of natural disaster

An apocalyptic vision, as told by Jeff Hickman of the Hawaii Department of Defense. “It’s like a war zone. I’ve seen war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, it’s like that, everything is razed! To see that, demolished, completely, destroyed, it’s incredible.” Rescuers continue to search the rubble in a recovery operation more than a rescue. Corpse detection dogs are also expected on site.

President Joe Biden has signed a natural disaster declaration, which will unlock significant federal aid to fund relief, emergency shelter and reconstruction efforts. Thousands of people were evacuated from the disaster areas to emergency centers or Maui’s main airport.

“We are going to need to house thousands of people,” insisted the governor, explaining that the authorities are currently contacting the hotels of the archipelago and appealing to the generosity of the inhabitants capable of housing displaced people in their homes. Tourists are asked to leave the island, buses are organized to exfiltrate them.

Global warming increases the frequency of extreme events

This disaster comes after a series of extreme weather events all over the world this summer. Massive fires have ravaged Canada, a record-long heat wave has scoured the southern United States, and heat waves have also hit Europe and parts of Asia.

While it is always difficult to attribute a particular event to climate change, scientists regularly point out that global warming increases the frequency of extreme events. More intense and more numerous, the episodes of drought increase the danger of the fires, which spread more quickly.