2023-08-10 09:00:57
ZEKE KALUA / AFP This image obtained by Maui County in Hawaii shows a forest fire in Lahaina on August 9. Hawaiian fires fanned by winds from Hurricane Dora forced residents to evacuate late August 8.
DOUBLE CHECK / AFP
This image obtained by Hawaii’s Maui County shows a wildfire in Lahaina on August 9. Hawaiian fires fanned by winds from Hurricane Dora forced residents to evacuate late August 8.
FIRES – Images worthy of the apocalypse. Several fires of incredible violence have ravaged the American archipelago of Hawaii since Tuesday August 8, killing at least 36 people.
Maui County confirmed this still provisional assessment this Thursday, August 10, according to several media including NBC News. A previous toll reported 6 dead.
Search and rescue operations continue. Thousands of people had to be evacuated and some residents were forced into the sea to hope to survive.
The fires mainly affect the island of Maui, and to a lesser extent that of Hawaii. They were aggravated by violent winds, going up to 130 km / h, fed by the force of Hurricane Dora, which is currently passing through the Pacific Ocean, several hundred kilometers south of the archipelago.
The town of Lahaina burnt to ashes
The resort town of Lahaina on Maui’s west coast was the hardest hit and was largely destroyed by the blazes.
This seaside resort of 12,000 inhabitants has experienced scenes “ worthy of a horror movie”, testified Claire Kent, a resident whose house was destroyed by fire, on CNN. She described the chaos that gripped the town with “ people stuck in traffic jams”. The inhabitants of the island indeed tried to flee, even though the roads were surrounded by flames, as you can see in the tweet below.
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“Much of Lahaina…has been destroyed and hundreds of local families have been displaced”, Hawaii Governor Josh Green confirmed in a statement. Overflights over the city have identified “ more than 271 structures » damaged, according to Maui County.
In the city center, “ apart from a few buildings here and there, it’s all rubble”, told AFP a law enforcement officer, on condition of anonymity. The area “ has not been excavated or cleared at all”he added, explaining that he expected the rescuers to find corpses: “given the amount of charred material, (…) I don’t think there is much alive in there”.
On social networks, the images bear witness to the violence of the situation. The city seems like wiped off the map, completely charred. Cars parked at the port appear burned and several houses are shattered. The heavenly colors gave way to a pile of ashes.
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Residents throw themselves into the water to survive
Pinned down by the flames, some townspeople threw themselves into the sea to try to survive: 14 people were rescued from the waters off Lahaina, authorities said.
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The island’s hospital network is “ exceeds ” by patients with burns or smoke inhalation, according to Vice Governor Sylvia Luke, who said the situation is “ dramatic ».
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 accommodated at Kahului Airport, pending evacuation.
The National Guard was activated and US President Joe Biden announced the mobilization of “ all federal means available” on the archipelago to fight fires.
The wind has knocked down many electric poles and communication networks are cut on part of Maui. This greatly complicates the task of rescue, because even the 911 emergency call service does not work in some areas of the island. According to the PowerOutage site, around 13,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity on Wednesday evening in the archipelago.
There are fires “everywhere” on the island
Lahaina resident Roxanne Zimmerman was among the first to evacuate the city on Tuesday afternoon. According to aerial footage she saw on social media, the building where she lived was destroyed.
“We are devastated, we don’t know how we are going to rebuild, or even if we can do it. And even more, we don’t know how many people we’ve lost.”she told AFP by phone.
The western part of Maui is in the grip of drought” for two years “, according to this 34-year-old photographer. “ With this hurricane passing to the south, it was the perfect conditions for a fire to take everything. »
Head of a surf school on the island, Elizabeth Smith is worried about six of her employees who live in Lahaina.
“I don’t want to be dramatic, but I don’t think anything like this has ever happened in Maui”, estimated this resident, who has lived there for more than 30 years. “ It is unusual to have so many areas affected by fires, they are all over the island. » Aerial images show the many front lines of the fires.
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According to the Vice Governor, the fact that the fires were indirectly fueled by strong winds exacerbated by Hurricane Dora is “ unprecedented “as these weather phenomena usually bring rain and flooding to Hawaii.
Millions of people have been hit by extreme weather events around the world in recent weeks, events that scientists say are exacerbated by climate change.
See also on Le HuffPost :
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