US President Joe Biden announced today (Wednesday) that he will embark on an official visit to Hawaii next week, following the severe wildfires that struck the island last week. As part of his visit, Biden will meet with local government officials and also with the rescue teams that operated at the scene of the fires and worked to recover the casualties on-site.
"On the upcoming Monday, I will travel to Hawaii with my wife Jill to meet with the rescue teams, survivors, federal and state officials," stated Biden. "We remain committed to providing all that the people of Hawaii need as they recover from this devastating disaster."
As mentioned, at least 106 people have died in the wave of wildfires that struck the island of Maui in Hawaii last week, after 7 fires broke out in various areas across the island in a short period of time. The flames spread rapidly due to strong winds registered in the aftermath of Hurricane Dora, which was south of Hawaii but did not make landfall.
In the fire, almost the entire resort town of Lahaina was destroyed, which formerly served as the capital of Hawaii before the islands became one of the 50 states in the US. "The town was almost completely devastated, it's an apocalyptic sight," said Senator Brian Schatz, who represents Hawaii in the American Congress. As a result of the fires, the roads leading to the town were blocked, and people reported jumping into the sea to escape the flames.
Today as well, rescue teams continued their operations in the fire-stricken area, and according to estimates, the teams covered about a third of the affected areas in their search for missing persons. Hawaii Governor Josh Green stated last night that it will take between 8 to 10 days before the final number of casualties can be determined. Despite the hopes of the families of the missing that their loved ones are still alive, Green emphasized that "the assessment of the authorities is that at this stage, we are dealing with a mission to find those who are no longer with us."
