850 people still unaccounted for following Maui fires – mayor claims

Around 850 people are currently unaccounted for following the destructive wildfires in Maui, according to County Mayor Richard Bissen.

More than 1,200 people who were reported missing have been found and are safe, according to Mr. Bissen. He also mentioned that the number of missing people might change.

One hundred and fourteen people have been confirmed as dead.

President Joe Biden will be going to the island for the first time after the dangerous fires happened there earlier this month.

The fire destroyed a lot of the old part of Lahaina, a town in Maui. It is now considered the worst natural disaster in the history of Hawaii.

Mr Bissen said in a video on social media that our lives have been permanently altered and things will never be as they used to be. “The way we support and comfort each other as we grieve and tackle this situation together will remain unchanged. ”

So far, they have identified 27 of the people who died and have told 11 families about it.

Information about the identities of the victims has started to become known recently. So far, the victims include a person who loves playing music, as well as caring grandparents and fathers.

Mr Bissen said that it was somewhat good news that only 850 people were missing. This is because it is a smaller number compared to the over 2,000 people who were missing right after the fires.

He requested people who were missing their loved ones to give a DNA sample to help find them.
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Experts say that it may take many months or even years to find and identify the victims because of how big the damage is and the state that most of the remains are expected to be in.

Mr Biden is going to visit the people affected by the fires on Monday, along with his wife Jill Biden. They will meet the victims, as well as the residents of Lahaina, the first responders, and the local officials.

The president promised to do everything he could to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragic event.

Republicans are criticizing Mr. Biden, saying that he didn’t do enough to fix the damage caused by the crisis.

Local officials have also received negative feedback. The person in charge of emergency management in Maui quit last week because people were angry that the agency didn’t turn on the alarm system after the fire.

The president wants to choose someone to help with the recovery on the island for a long time. They will be in charge of dealing with emergencies.