The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed this Saturday that there are descendants of Portuguese missing after the forest fires in Hawaii, which caused the death of at least 80 people.
“Until now, the government [local] It has not yet published the lists of fatalities, however, members of families of Portuguese descent are known to be missing,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in response to Lusa.
At least 80 people died in the fires that hit the US island of Maui, in the Hawaiian archipelago, according to the latest balance released today by local authorities.
heard by TSF On Friday night, Portugal’s honorary consul in Hawaii, Tyler dos Santos-Tam, described the sadness of the families on their return home: “It’s bad, there are small fires that are still burning and families can go home to look for their clothes or other possessions, it’s going to be very sad,” he said.
The community of Portuguese descendants was greatly affected by the fire, especially since “many Portuguese lived in the most affected city” and these families “lost almost everything: they lost their house, they lost their clothes and now they are in a very difficult situation “. situation”.
The Portuguese government guaranteed that it was following the situation through the Portuguese Consulate General in San Francisco, and was also in contact with the leaders of the Portuguese community in Hawaii.
According to Maui County officials, about 1,418 people were taken to shelters.
The fires are the deadliest and most destructive disasters to hit Hawaii since the 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people.
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.
The fire dangers of the city of Lahaina were 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
