The death toll from fires in the tourist paradise of Hawaii rises

In the fire that started this Tuesday on the Hawaiian island of Maui and could not be extinguished by strong Hurricane Dora and the wind, much of the island surrendered to the flames.

According to official data, the death toll rose to 67, making it the largest natural disaster to occur in Hawaii. The last time 61 people died in a tsunami in Hawaii was in 1960.

In news from the US media, the authorities announced that dogs that receive search and rescue training, also known as “cadaveric dogs”, also participate in the work in the region. It was claimed that billions of dollars must be spent to bring the island back to normal after the natural disaster in which 1,000 buildings were reduced to ashes and thousands of people left homeless.

Affirming that the island can recover after a process that will take years, Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz said: “No one has entered these burned buildings yet. Therefore, it is possible that the death toll will increase dramatically. “Lahaina has become a bombed-out battlefield,” he said.

THE ALERT SYSTEM DID NOT WORK?

On the other hand, after the flames spread very quickly over a very large area, experts assured that the early warning systems on the island did not work. Some sources said that the sirens, which work in natural disasters and other threatening situations, do not work at the time of the fire.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green also spoke to CNN about the issue. “I gave instructions this morning to examine how the fire developed and when it broke out and spread rapidly,” Green said. The authorities have not yet disclosed which early warning system is operating.

Maui Fire Chief Bradford Ventura said: “The speed of the flames affected the real-time flow of information between firefighters and emergency management officials. The citizens managed to escape by their own means, a very short time before the flames approached, ”he said.