Wildfire roars through Hawaii’s historic Lahaina
The death toll in Maui, Hawaii has reached 93 as the devastating wildfires become the deadliest in US modern history.
The blazes on the island are now the country’s worst in terms of casualties for over a century, while authorities have warned that the effort to find and identify the dead is still in its early stages, as crews with cadaver dogs have covered just three per cent of the search area.
"It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced," Governor Josh Green said on Saturday as he toured the devastation in Lahaina.
The newly released death toll passed that of the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead and destroyed the town of Paradise.
At least two other fires — in south Maui’s Kihei area and in the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry — have been burning on the island, with no fatalities reported so far.
Many fire survivors said they did not hear any sirens or receive a warning, only realising they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions. Officials sent alerts but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
