Emergency crews are currently assessing the extent of the damage caused by wildfires on Maui island. The disaster has tragically claimed the lives of at least 80 individuals, while thousands have been forced to flee their homes.
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has suggested the possibility of housing survivors and responders at the Sheraton Hotel, which has 200 rooms available. However, the scale of the crisis is immense, with an estimated 4,500 people in need of shelter according to an evaluation posted on the County of Maui's Facebook page. Civil Air Patrol flyovers revealed that nearly all of the 1,692 structures destroyed were residential.
The Lahaina Harbour has also been impacted, with nine sunken boats confirmed through the utilization of sonar technology. Unfortunately, the repercussions of the wildfires have disrupted communication networks, as approximately 30 cell towers remain offline. Furthermore, power outages in the west Maui region are expected to persist for several weeks.
This disaster marks a somber milestone in Hawaii's history, surpassing even the toll of a 1960 tsunami that claimed 61 lives on the Big Island. Officials are diligently investigating how the flames managed to engulf the historic resort town with little forewarning. Residents like Erik Naylor recounted their harrowing escape, describing the destruction of their neighborhood and the gratitude for those who offered shelter.
"We got some pictures of our place from yesterday and it's just completely gone. Like, everything's gone," he said. "Completely decimated, our whole neighbourhood. But by God's grace, we have some people who gave us a place right here just in a town 30 minutes away,"
Search teams with cadaver dogs are working tirelessly to uncover any additional casualties within the fire-ravaged structures. The enormity of the destruction, which incinerated 1,000 buildings and left countless homeless, is likely to necessitate years of recovery efforts and substantial financial resources. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii expressed the unfortunate anticipation of a significant rise in the death toll.
As of late Friday, Maui County reported a death toll of 80 individuals. Although the Lahaina fire that originated from the brush has been largely contained at 85%, two other island wildfires are still partially raging at 80% and 50% containment. Fueled by winds from Hurricane Dora, which passed to the south of the island chain, these fires have inflicted severe damage, nearly obliterating the town of 13,000 residents. Survivors like Madelyn Barrett, who endured hours of terror during the intense winds and flames, recall the haunting experience from the safety of a friend's house in the nearby Kihei area.
茂宜岛野火导致数千人流离失所，引发了对庇护所的急切搜寻。
紧急救援队目前正在评估茂宜岛野火造成的破坏程度。这场灾难已经导致至少80人丧生，成千上万人被迫离开家园。美国联邦紧急管理局（FEMA）建议在喜来登酒店为幸存者和救援人员提供住所，该酒店有200间客房可用。然而，这场危机的规模巨大，根据茂宜县Facebook页面上的评估，估计有4500人需要庇护。平民航空巡逻队的飞越发现，几乎所有1692栋被摧毁的建筑物都是住宅。
拉海纳港口也受到影响，通过声纳技术确认有九艘沉没的船只。不幸的是，野火的影响破坏了通信网络，大约30座手机信号塔仍处于离线状态。此外，西茂宜地区的停电预计将持续数周。
这场灾难标志着夏威夷历史上一个令人悲伤的里程碑，甚至超过了1960年在夏威夷大岛造成61人死亡的海啸。官员们正在努力调查火势是如何在历史悠久的度假胜地城镇迅速蔓延的，几乎没有提前警告。像埃里克·内勒这样的居民回忆起他们惊险的逃生，描述了邻里的毁灭以及那些提供庇护的人们的感激之情。
“我们从昨天拍了些我们家的照片，一切都不见了。就像，一切都消失了，”他说。“整个社区都被彻底摧毁了。但出于上帝的恩典，我们有一些人让我们在这里找到了一个住所，就在一个30分钟的镇上。”
搜寻队伍正在不辍努力，在被火焰摧毁的建筑物中寻找任何额外的遇难者。这场大规模的破坏，摧毁了1000座建筑，使无数人无家可归，可能需要数年的恢复工作和大量的财政资源。夏威夷参议员布莱恩·沙茨表示，不幸的是，死亡人数可能会大幅上升。
截至周五晚，茂宜县报告的死亡人数为80人。虽然起初是从植被着火而来的拉海纳大火已经在85％的程度上得到控制，但岛上还有另外两场野火，分别以80％和50％的控制程度继续肆虐。这些火灾得到了飓风多拉南下时的风助，几乎摧毁了这个有13000居民的城镇。像马德琳·巴雷特这样的幸存者在附近的基黑地区的一位朋友家里，从安全的地方回忆起在狂风和烈焰中度过的恐怖时刻。
