The president of the United States, Joe Biden, said Tuesday that he intends to visit Hawaii “as soon as possible”, at a time when the fatalities of the fires in that US state are still being counted.
“My wife Jill [Biden] and I will go to Hawaii as soon as possible (…) I want to make sure that we do not stop relief operations, ”said Joe Biden on a visit to the state of Wisconsin.
The most recent tally of wildfires in Hawaii indicates 99 fatalities and the number “could double” this week, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told CNN television.
It’s just that most of the bodies found to date were either near the boardwalk or in the ocean. Dozens of people jumped into the water to escape the flames.
“We are being crushed by the circumstances of climate change and tragedy at the same time,” Green lamented.
According to the governor, 1,300 people are still missing. This number is dwindling as communications are gradually restored on Maui and residents are able to locate family members.
Last week, Joe Biden declared a state of catastrophe, allowing federal aid to be released to the North American archipelago to fund emergency relief and reconstruction efforts on the island.
Source: TSF
