Some Portuguese descendants who went missing in the fires on the island of Maui have already been located and Portugal continues to monitor the situation in Hawaii, the government said on Sunday.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) states that “it is known that some Portuguese descendants have already been located, but it cannot be ruled out that there are still missing persons”.
The MNO, the note said, continues to “monitor the situation in Hawaii through the Consulate General of Portugal in San Francisco.”
On Saturday, the president of the republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said that “there is no news of Portuguese nationals” among those killed in wildfires in Hawaii, in the United States.
Earlier, the State Department confirmed the existence of Portuguese descendants who disappeared after the wildfires in Hawaii.
“So much for the government [norte-americano] has not yet published the lists of fatalities, but there is knowledge of missing members of families of Portuguese descent,” the Foreign Ministry said in a response to Lusa on Saturday.
Also on Saturday, the Portuguese MNO also stated that it had not registered any request for support from citizens of Portuguese nationality, dual nationality or Portuguese descendants in Hawaii.
“There are about 30 citizens, registered with the Consulate General of San Francisco, who live in Hawaii. The Portuguese community, with dual citizenship, is estimated to be about 200,” the MNO said.
The MNE also clarified that the community with Portuguese heritage, “estimated at around 100,000 people”, is formed by descendants of the migration wave of the late 19th century who do not have Portuguese nationality.
However, he admitted that the list of missing persons in the Hawaii fires, which has already been released, “includes Portuguese names of non-citizen families of Portuguese descent”.
The death toll in the fires that hit the US island of Maui in the Hawaiian archipelago has risen to 93, according to data released by local authorities today.
Officials predict that as searches continue in the devastated areas, more victims will be found.
Two of three fires in Maui are still burning, according to the county’s latest report, which has so far only been able to verify the identities of two of the 93 confirmed victims.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green said the fires are already the “biggest natural disaster Hawaii has ever seen,” according to CNN.
Before Hawaii became a state in 1959, a tsunami in 1946 killed 158 people.
The governor also estimated material losses at about $6 billion (about $5.5 billion).
These fires are the deadliest in the US in more than 100 years, surpassing the Camp Fire in the state of California, which killed 85 and destroyed the city of Paradise.
Source: DN
