A month after the historic town of Lahaina burned in the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said Friday the number of missing had dropped to 66, with the death toll still at 115. And the authorities will soon rescue the residents. Visit their property.
Millions of dollars in aid will be provided as families and businesses recover and travel restrictions end Oct. 8 and West Maui reopens to visitors, Green said.
“If we support Maui’s economy and keep our people employed, they will recover faster and continue to live on Maui,” Green said.
Donations from around the world have gone to the American Red Cross, Hawaii Community Foundation, Maui United Way and other organizations, Green said, and he has authorized $100 million from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to support others. Can go. Donate while increasing the power of their generosity.”
He said the government is also making $25 million available to help businesses survive, distributed in grants of $10,000 to $20,000.
On August 8 the fire broke out in the hills above the historic seaside town. Within hours it spread through single-family homes and apartment buildings, quaint downtown streets, art galleries and restaurants and destroyed more than 2,000 structures. Dozens of people fled towards the sea to escape the flames. It is estimated that the fire caused $5.5 billion in damage.
The new figure of 66 people still missing represents a significant drop from a week ago, when officials said 385 people were missing.
So far, Maui police have released the names of 55 of the dead. 22 of them were in their 70s, the other 13 were in their 60s. There was one listed victim under the age of 10.
With about half of the dead still unidentified, Green said he expected there would be significant similarity between the names on the missing list and the remains that had already been recovered. Therefore, he said, he did not expect the death toll to rise much.
“We’re starting to see that the universe of 115 deaths is where we are,” Green said. “There may be some additional deaths in the next month.”
The Maui Police Department said Friday that in addition to the 66 people listed as unaccounted for by the FBI, there are 80 additional names of potentially missing people the agency is investigating for credibility. In those cases, no information was provided to the reporting party or the reporting party was not available to provide further details.
The governor said that in the coming weeks, officials will begin a program of supervised visits for residents to return and visit their properties. People have to be careful while travelling, he said, as the ash is poisonous.