Hawaii: Massive flames have wreaked havoc on famous tourist places of the Hawaii islands in the US killing 67 people and leaving cities to ashes, reported AFP. Officials, including Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii fear the toll might increase as authorities search hundreds of charred buildings after what is said to be one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaii’s history, reported the New York Times.
“The death count that we had so far really constitutes anyone who was visible from outside of the buildings,” Schatz said, as quoted by The NY Times. He added, “…so we are expecting bad news over the next couple of days.”
Hawaii is an archipelago situated around 3,200 km west of the US mainland, as per Reuters. It has eight main islands, including Hawaii, known as the Big Island.
The fire, which began on Tuesday, tore through the resort town of Mauli and the historic city of Lahaina where people complained of no warning by the authorities, as per the NY Times. The officials, however, said that the blaze moved so quickly that it was ‘nearly impossible’ to initiate evacuation on time.
Hawaii’s Governor Josh Green told CNN on Friday that he had authorised a review of the emergency response. Green defended officials saying a hurricane passing near the island had complicated firefighting efforts.
“When fires in Lahaina reignited, resources were focused on other blazes, and telecommunications were destroyed very rapidly,” he said, as per the New York Times.
