The death toll from the wildfires in Hawaii, the deadliest in more than a century in the United States, rose to 111, Maui County said.
In a press conference, Josh Green admitted that, a week after the tragedy, the balance could still increase considerably, at a time when there are still hundreds of missing people.
“This leaves us heartbroken,” added the governor.
Rescue teams, made up of first responders and sniffer dogs, have only finished searching for bodies in about 38% of the affected area in Lahaina, the historic capital of the island of Maui, Green said.
“This is a very difficult search operation,” said the head of FEMA, the federal agency in charge of responding to natural disasters in the United States, Deanne Criswell.
Hawaiian authorities have been asking relatives of the missing to take a DNA test to help identify the bodies. Only nine of the 111 dead have yet been identified.
A mobile morgue dispatched by federal authorities arrived in Hawaii on Tuesday, along with a team of medical examiners, pathologists and technicians, to help authorities identify the remains.
The deployed teams include specialists who worked on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, plane crashes, or forest fires in the United States.
Josh Green also said that about 2,000 homes and businesses remain without power on Maui and promised those people would receive support from authorities if necessary.
The White House announced Wednesday that US President Joe Biden will travel to Maui next Monday.
The head of state, accompanied by his wife, Jill Biden, will meet “with first responders, survivors, and federal, state, and local authorities,” the White House spokeswoman announced to the press.
The Democratic president “continues to coordinate a whole-of-government response” at the federal level and is “committed to providing the people of Hawaii with everything they need,” Karine Jean-Pierre said.
The White House foresees that the search for victims will continue until the beginning of next week, “in a phase that allows a presidential visit”, mobilizing important logistical resources and a considerable security device.
Joe Biden had quickly declared a natural catastrophe situation in Hawaii, which makes it possible to send emergency resources from the Federal State, and met on several occasions with Governor Josh Green.
However, he was criticized by the Republican opposition for his response considered weak or even indifferent to those fires, the deadliest in more than a century in the United States.
Source: TSF
