Zoom Image

Fire in the city of Lahaina (August 9)

Photo: Dustin Johnson / REUTERS

A historic city is practically completely destroyed, hundreds of buildings have become uninhabitable: In Hawaii, the extinguishing and salvage work continues because of the huge fires. On Thursday (local time), the authorities issued a situation report – with staggering figures.

In the meantime, 53 victims have been recovered, compared to 36 so far. According to the Maui County administration, it is to be feared that this number will rise again in the coming days. Some areas are not yet accessible at all. "As firefighters continue to extinguish, 17 more deaths have been confirmed around the fire in Lahaina," the statement said.

The historic city on the island of Maui, which is popular with tourists, has been largely destroyed. The governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, told the US broadcaster CNN that up to 1700 buildings in the coastal town may have burned down. The property damage is in the billions.

Many people are still missing. However, it is unclear how many people could have fled to emergency shelters or otherwise sought safety. Some people had jumped into the sea to flee from the flames.

Because of the severe bush and forest fires, US President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency. Biden thus released federal aid for the affected areas on the US archipelago in the Pacific, according to the White House. Among other things, the money will benefit people whose homes were destroyed or damaged by the flames.

On platform X, formerly Twitter, US President Biden wrote: "Jill and I express our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the Maui wildfires. Our prayers are with those whose homes, businesses and communities have been destroyed."

On Maui and the neighboring island of Hawaii, the largest island of the state of the same name, several fires broke out on Tuesday. Fanned by violent gusts with winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour caused by Hurricane Dora, the flames had spread rapidly. At first, the emergency services were completely overwhelmed.

"The fact that we have wildfires in several areas that are indirectly due to a hurricane is unprecedented. This is something that the residents of Hawaii and the state have not yet experienced," CNN quoted Maui Deputy Governor Sylvia Luke as saying. She added that hundreds of hectares of land had been burned. Tens of thousands of tourists were flown out.

Luke also said local hospitals were "overwhelmed with patients with burns" and people who had inhaled smoke. The reality is that we have to fly people out of Maui to treat their burns."

jok/AFP