Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen.Photo:YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty
YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty
The Maui County Mayor has confirmed that 850 people are still missing after thedevastating wildfireson the island.
Mayor Richard Bissen shared the news in avideoposted to the County of Maui Facebook page on Sunday.
He also confirmed that the death toll from the fires has now risen to 114 people, with only 27 individuals having been identified so far. “The FBI and Maui County Coroner are working together to identity all the recovered remains,” Bissen said.
“There are currently 850 names on the list of missing persons," Bissen continued. “There is positive news in this number because when this process began the missing person list contained over 2,000 names. Through the tireless work of the FBI and Maui Police Department, over 1,285 individuals have been located safe.”
“We are both saddened and relieved about these numbers as we continue the recovery process. The number identified will rise and the number of missing may decrease but there will be daily fluctuations in the numbers as family members are added and removed from the list.”
Bissen said the missing persons list was the result of the FBI combining and refining various lists of unaccounted individuals from a number of different agencies including the American Red Cross and the Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA continues urban search and rescue for Hawaii wildfires.Dominick Del Vecchio/FEMA/UPI/Shutterstock
Dominick Del Vecchio/FEMA/UPI/Shutterstock
He also urged residents who have immediate family members unaccounted for and who wish to provide a DNA sample “to assist” the Family Assistance Center at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa.
“Our lives have changed forever and things will not be the same. What will be the same is the way we care for each as we grieve and go through this together,” Bissen concluded the video.
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On Sunday, anupdate from Maui Countyconfirmed that the 114 fatalities had come from 85 percent of the disaster area being searched.
The wildfire in Lahaina, which was first reported on Aug. 8, is now 90 percent contained, while the Kula fire is 85 percent contained. A wildfire in Olinda, estimated to be affecting an area of 1,081 acres, is also 85 percent contained.
Search and Rescue soldiers and airmen in Lahaina.Master Sgt Andrew Jackson/USAF/U S National Guard/UPI/Shutterstock
Master Sgt Andrew Jackson/USAF/U S National Guard/UPI/Shutterstock
“The Maui Fire Department is assisting State Division of Forestry and Wildfire with this joint fire-fighting effort,” the update read.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in avideo statementSunday that over 1800 people who have been displaced from their homes are now in hotel rooms with “very few people left in shelters.”
“Tomorrow the president arrives and I’ll be making the case to make sure our recovery comes as quickly as possible,” Green said.
Justin Sullivan/Getty
“It’s my job to go get the resources that we need but then I’ll be taking input from everyone across our state and we will listen to the voices of Lahaina to tell us how and when we rebuild,” he added. “We’re doing all that we can to bring some healing and recovery to our state.”
“Our whole town is gone. Our jobs are gone. Our house is gone. Our cars are gone and our whole community is just, I mean, it’s the entire town,” she said.
“I’ve never seen anything this tragic since 9-11. It’s like, what do you do when you weren’t expecting your entire town, all the buildings and businesses and houses, to just be wiped out?” she added.
source: people.com
