At least 36 people have died in the American archipelago of Hawaii, where two islands are currently being ravaged by multiple fires that nearly destroyed a town, prompting thousands to evacuate and forcing some residents to throw themselves into the sea to escape the flames , so the authorities said.
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“So far, while firefighting efforts continue, 36 people have been found dead from the still-active Lahaina Fire,” officials in Maui County, the hardest-hit island, said in a statement late Wednesday.
The fire severely affected the resort town of Lahaina on Maui’s west coast, much of which was destroyed by the blaze. A previous report by District Mayor Richard Bissen reported six deaths.
The fires primarily affect the island of Maui and, to a lesser extent, the island of Hawaii. They were exacerbated by fierce winds reaching speeds of up to 130 km/h, compounded by the strength of Hurricane Dora, which is currently sweeping through the Pacific Ocean several hundred kilometers south of the archipelago.
AFP
In Lahaina, a beach town of 12,000 people, there were scenes “worthy of a horror movie,” Claire Kent, a resident whose home was destroyed by fire, told CNN. She described the chaos that gripped the city with “people stuck in traffic” and “burning cars on both sides of the road”.
“Much of Lahaina … was destroyed and hundreds of Native families were displaced,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a statement.
According to Maui County, “more than 271 damaged buildings” were found during overflights over the city.
In the city center “everything is in ruins except for a few buildings here and there,” a police officer told AFP on condition that he remain anonymous.
The area was “not searched or cleared at all,” he added, saying he expected rescuers to find bodies. “Given the amount of charred material…I don’t think there’s much life there.
AFP
Pinned by the flames, some townspeople dove into the sea to survive: 14 people were rescued from the waters off Lahaina, authorities said.
The island’s hospital network is “overwhelmed” with patients suffering from burns or who have inhaled smoke, according to Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, who said the situation was “dramatic”.
The authorities are trying to transfer patients to other islands.
According to Maui County, more than 2,100 people have been housed in emergency centers and about 2,000 travelers have been housed at Kahului Airport pending evacuation.
The National Guard has been activated and US President Joe Biden has announced the mobilization of “all available federal resources” in the archipelago to fight the fires.
Winds have knocked down many utility poles and communications networks are down in parts of Maui. This greatly complicates the rescue task as in some areas of the island even the 911 emergency call does not work.
Around 13,000 homes and businesses were left without power on the archipelago as of Wednesday night, according to website PowerOutage.
Lahaina resident Roxanne Zimmerman was among the first to evacuate the city Tuesday afternoon. According to aerial footage she saw on social media, the building she lived in was destroyed.
“We are devastated, we don’t know how to go about rebuilding or if we can do it. What’s more, we don’t know how many people we’ve lost,” she told AFP over the phone.
AFP
According to this 34-year-old photographer, western Maui has been affected by the drought “for two years.” “Because this hurricane was moving south, the conditions were perfect for a devastating fire.”
Elizabeth Smith, director of a surf school on the island, is worried about six of her employees who live in Lahaina.
“We know that one couple was able to be evacuated, but we don’t know what happened to the others,” she told AFP over the phone, explaining that communication remained difficult.
“I don’t want to be dramatic, but I don’t think anything like this has ever happened on Maui,” said the resident, who has lived there for more than 30 years. “It’s unusual for so many areas to be affected by fires, they’re spread all over the island.”
The fact that the fires were indirectly fueled by strong winds exacerbated by Hurricane Dora is “unprecedented” since such weather events usually bring rain and flooding to Hawaii, the lieutenant governor said.
Millions of people around the world have been hit by extreme weather events in recent weeks, which scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change.