The death toll from wildfires in Hawaii has risen to 80, officials announced. There are still 1,418 people in shelters.
The fires are the deadliest and most destructive disasters to hit Hawaii since the 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people.
heard by TSFthe Honorary Consul of Portugal in Hawaii, Tyler dos Santos-Tam, describes the sadness of the families on their return home.
“It’s bad, there are small fires that keep burning and families can go back home to get their clothes or other goods, it will be very sad,” he says.
Tyler dos Santos-Tam adds that the community of Portuguese descendants was greatly affected by the fire.
“There are many Portuguese who lived in the city most affected by the fire. It is a very difficult situation, because these families lost almost everything, they lost their houses, they lost their clothes and now they are in a very difficult situation”, he says.
Despite the difficulties, Portugal’s honorary consul in Hawaii ensures that the population is united and receiving a lot of help, but recovery can take a long time.
“Recovery takes weeks, months, maybe years, but the communities are strong. The community will be built, it will be further strengthened, but the next few days will be very difficult, ”he underlines.
These fires are even the deadliest in the US since the 2018 Camp Fire in the State of California, which caused 85 deaths and reduced the city of Paradise to ashes.
Dogs capable of sniffing out corpses were brought to the island Friday to help locate bodies, Maui City Council Speaker Richard Bissen Jr. said.
Lahaina’s fire hazards were well known. Maui County’s mitigation plan, updated in 2020, identified Lahaina and other communities in West Maui with frequent fires and a large number of buildings at risk of fire damage.
Source: TSF
