A new result for victims. 93 people killed in Hawaii fires

A new result for victims.

93 people killed in Hawaii fires :

Local authorities in Maui Island

Hawaii :

• have confirmed that 93 people have died in the wildfires

• and there are feared to be more deaths.

• The responsibility of what has become one of

the worst fire disasters in United States

history has become increasingly debated.

At least 93 people spent

the fires ravaging Maui Island in Hawaii :

a heavy toll that drew sharp criticism against the authorities over its handling of one of the worst natural disasters in the American archipelago's recent history.

According to the Governor of Hawaii :

• the toll of victims of the fires that

• destroyed a historic tourist town in Hawaii was 93

• likely to "continue to rise. We want people ready for this ".

The federal agency responsible for responding to :

natural disasters said that some 2,207 buildings

mostly residential, had been destroyed or damaged.

Hawaii :

authorities revealed that :

they had opened an investigation into the circumstances of the fire response, with a state congressman admitting that officials underestimated its risk, while residents reported that they had received no warnings.

The 63-year-old Vilma Reid said:

The mountain behind us caught fire and nobody told

us that we needed to evacuate.

You know when we knew there was a fire?

when he arrived on the other side of our street 

Reed :

• whose home was destroyed by the fire

•  said she and her family had fled the fire so that

• she could put belongings in her car and were now relying on aid.

"This is my house now,"

she said :

 referring to the car in which she slept with her daughter, grandson and cat.

The population is still in shock :

and they have just begun to realize the extent of

the damage in the mostly ash city of Lahaina.

Anthony García :

• 80, who has lived in the city for three decades

• regrets that "everything came, everything! that breaks my heart "

• In its vicinity, ash survivors move in the hope of

• finding images or objects that have not been brought by fire.

Amid the ruin :

the population seeks to understand how the tragedy has reached this magnitude

as well as the judiciary

which has opened :

• an investigation into the authorities' management of the crisis.

• Maui experienced numerous power outages

• and the emergency number ceased service in parts of the island.

Hawaii :

Democratic Congresswoman Gil Tokuda explained that

the alerts usually sent by telephone did not arrive due to

"lack of coverage"

and obviously we did not provide backup solutions to

ensure the safety of the population.

We have reduced the seriousness and speed of the fire... We have to get better .

While Jeremy Greenberg :

a firefighter who spent years volunteering

said the degree of difficulty in controlling the fire was "exceptional."

In a statement to MSNBC :

he noted that :

"the speed at which this type of fire is progressing is 20 seconds or less long."

• The toll of fire victims exceeded those caused

• by the tsunami that struck Hawaii in 1960 with 61 deaths

• making it the deadliest disaster in the state's history.

The archipelago may not have finished counting its killings.

Search and rescue teams accompanied

by trained dogs arrived on Maui Island to search for possible bodies

authorities said.

Greenbagg said that "Wa"

and its auxiliary agencies are working to

"supply all the resources they need"

including water to :

areas where public resources have been contaminated.

The Agency :

which operated a permanent water distribution centre in Hawaii

was sending more than 150 staff to the affected area.

The cost of :

reconstruction is estimated at about $5.52 billion in Lahaina alone.

These devastating fires come in the middle of

a summer during which a series of

extreme weather events across the planet :

including a severe heatwave in the southern United States, have been recorded

according to experts.

Fires spread more easily on :

the island of Maui because of less rain than usual this year.

The western part of the island

where Lahaina is located

is currently experiencing a "severe" to "moderate" drought

according to the US Drought Observatory.