2023-08-13 13:56:34
The toll from the fires in Hawaii continues to worsen. It reports 93 dead, a significant number, well beyond the human consequences of the last major natural disaster in this American state, the 1960 tsunami which killed 61 people.
The residents, still in shock, began to see the extent of the damage in Lahaina, a seaside town of 13,000 inhabitants almost reduced to nothing. “It took everything, everything! It breaks my heart, ”laments Anthony Garcia, 80, who has lived in the city for thirty years.
“We underestimated the dangerousness and the speed of the fire”
Like the inhabitants, justice seeks to understand how the drama could take such proportions: an investigation has been opened into the management of the crisis by the authorities. Their communication during the drama is particularly in question. Residents have pointed out that they have only been able to rely on word of mouth, and are demanding accountability.
Maui suffered numerous power outages during the crisis and the 911 emergency number stopped working in parts of the island, while fire alarm sirens were not activated.
The alerts, usually transmitted by telephone, could not be received because “there was no network”. “Clearly, we have not provided emergency solutions to ensure the safety of residents,” admitted Saturday Jill Tokuda, an elected Democrat from Hawaii. “We underestimated the dangerousness and the speed of the fire,” she still regretted.
The fight against the fires continues
The island has probably not finished counting its dead. Only a small portion of the burnt area has been searched, according to Police Chief John Pelletier. And only two victims of this blaze, which melted the metal objects, could be identified, he said.
On Saturday evening, firefighters continued to battle another fire in a mountainous region of the island. Since the start of the fires, firefighters have had to fight multiple simultaneous blazes, fueled by strong winds. Faced with the speed of the progression of the flames, the population of Lahaina had to flee without looking back, sometimes even throwing themselves into the ocean to escape.
This disaster comes amid a summer marked by a series of extreme weather events across the planet, including an intense heat wave in the southern United States and mega wildfires in Canada, phenomena linked to global warming , according to experts.
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