2023-08-21 05:05:00
Joe Biden is expected Monday in Hawaii after the catastrophic fires that killed more than a hundred people two weeks ago on the island of Maui, where search operations continue, in a context of criticism of the management of the drama by the authorities.
Few details were released on the timing of his visit, but the president will meet with families, emergency workers and local officials, the White House said. He will be accompanied by his wife Jill Biden.
“He will be able to witness the consequences” of these fires, and “feel the desolation in this community”, declared Sunday on CNN Deanne Criswell, boss of the federal agency in charge of the response to natural disasters (Fema). “He will be able to reassure the people of Maui that the federal government is here to support them.”
The visit comes after strong criticism from Republican officials, who said the president had remained too silent in the face of the scale of the disaster. He did not speak publicly when the toll rose considerably.
The White House, for its part, stressed that Joe Biden had remained in “close contact” with the governor of Hawaii, Democrat Josh Green, and had received regular information on the situation.
The president had quickly declared a state of natural disaster in Hawaii, allowing the deployment of emergency aid resources from the federal state.
More than 1,000 federal employees are present in Maui, and some 50,000 meals have been distributed by Fema, the executive said.
Presidential picture
But criticism also relates to the response of local authorities.
The presidential visit will take place just days after the resignation of the head of the Maui crisis management agency, accused of not having sounded the alarm sirens during the deadly fire that ravaged the town of Lahaina (12,000 inhabitants), on the west coast of the island.
Taken aback, some residents had thrown themselves into the sea to escape the flames.
“Would I have liked the sirens to sound? Sure,” Gov. Josh Green said Sunday, while explaining that they were “historically” not used for fires, but for tsunamis and tsunamis. hurricanes.
Faced with the rumbling feeling of abandonment, Joe Biden must not repeat the mistakes of his predecessors. If these visits to the population are a must after a disaster, they also risk diverting relief operations, and can prove harmful to the presidential image.
A photo of President George W. Bush flying over Louisiana without landing there after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 had become a symbol of a disconnected administration.
Donald Trump was filmed nonchalantly throwing paper towel rolls during a visit to Puerto Rico after a hurricane in 2017.
114 deaths
For the moment, 114 deaths have been confirmed in Hawaii, the deadliest fire in more than a century in the United States. And the final balance sheet could be much heavier.
Some 1,000 people are still missing.
About 85% of the affected area was covered by “an army” of rescuers and sniffer dogs, searching for bodies in the rubble, Josh Green said Sunday. Covering the remaining 15% could take “weeks” according to him, because these are larger buildings whose structures will have to be cleared.
Few bodies have been identified so far.
An investigation into the cause of the fire has been opened. Some suspect the role of power lines.
Electricity provider Hawaiian Electric is accused of failing to shut off power, making the situation worse with utility poles falling amid high winds.
Beyond human errors, Josh Green named another culprit, relying on the growing number of fires on the archipelago: “Let’s be clear, climate change is here, we are right in it.”
According to scientists, the invasive vegetation that has developed on the island for several decades, very resistant to droughts but very flammable, has also contributed to the rapid spread of the fires.
21/08/2023 05:04:05 –
Washington (AFP) –
© 2023 AFP
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