The governor announced the new figure at a news conference Wednesday that got heated at several points as authorities sought to defend their response to the fire.
Gov. Josh Green bristled at suggestions that there is growing distrust and frustration to government’s response to the wildfire, saying those are rumors being spread on social media.
And Maui’s Emergency Management officials pushed back against questions over why sirens weren’t sounded, saying that could have worsened the situation by prompting people to flee toward the flames. At the same time, Green said the state will conduct a thorough review of what happened to determine if protocols should be changed or if additional systems are needed.
Survivors say they had little chance to flee in part because of downed cellphone lines and power was out. As the work of understanding what happened continues, so too does the difficult and grueling task of recovering remains. Some 30 teams armed with cadaver dogs are searching the dusty ruins of historic Lahaina town for bodies and have found entire families in burned-out cars and homes.But the number of people unaccounted for has remained at about 1,000 people, suggesting that the death toll will almost undoubtedly increase.Already the wildfire is the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Death toll in Hawaii wildfire rises to 99; hundreds remain unaccounted forBodies have been found in cars and on the road, harrowing evidence of how the inferno caught many trying to flee the flames.
Read more »
Death toll in Hawaii wildfire rises to 99; hundreds remain unaccounted forBodies have been found in cars and on the road, harrowing evidence of how the inferno caught many trying to flee the flames.
Read more »
Hawaii wildfires: Death toll rises to 101; Biden will visit areaThe death toll is expected to rise in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.
Read more »
Death toll in Hawaii wildfire rises to 99; hundreds remain unaccounted forBodies have been found in cars and on the road, harrowing evidence of how the inferno caught many trying to flee the flames.
Read more »
Death toll in Hawaii wildfire rises to 99; hundreds remain unaccounted forBodies have been found in cars and on the road, harrowing evidence of how the inferno caught many trying to flee the flames.
Read more »