Residents displaced by the wildfires on the island of Maui, which have claimed at least 111 lives, are filling Hawaiian hotels, where they will be able to stay until at least next spring.
Authorities in the Hawaiian archipelago hope to empty the crowded and uncomfortable shelters early next week and move people to hotel rooms, the American Red Cross vice president of disaster operations said Thursday.
Hotels are also available to accommodate evacuees who have spent the past eight days sleeping in cars or camping in parking lots, Brad Kieserman added.
“We will be able to keep people in hotels for as long as it takes until we find them a home,” Kieserman said during a news conference.
The contracts with the hotels will run for at least seven months but can be easily extended, he added, adding that the properties will be partnered with service providers who will offer meals, advice, financial assistance and other support.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green had stressed that at least 1,000 hotel rooms will be reserved for those who have lost their homes.
In addition, the AirBnB platform’s nonprofit agency will provide properties for 1,000 people, the company said.
The death toll from wildfires in Hawaii, the deadliest in more than a century in the United States, rose to 110 on Wednesday, according to the latest data.
Rescue teams, made up of rescuers 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, the Hawaii governor said.
Hawaiian authorities have been asking relatives of the missing to take a DNA test to help identify the bodies. Only five of the 110 dead have yet been identified.
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.
Source: TSF
