MAUI COUNTY: At least 36 people have been died in Maui County Hawaii, United States as wildfires spread across parts of the island, county officials said late Wednesday.
The blazing fire affected most of the Maui community of Lahaina, where about 12,000 people were residing, resulting in displacement of hundreds of families to other areas, Hawaii governer Josh Green said.
Meanwhile, according to the officials over 270 structures have been affected in Lahaina, adding that several homes and businesses were wiped out.
According to officials three helicopters from the US Coast Guard and US Navy were engaged the rescue and search operations along the west Maui coastline, and a federal team reached the area on Wednesday to assist search efforts in the affected area.
Due to heavy damage, the cellular service has been interrupted resulting further inconvenience in the area adding that fixing of the networks could take or even weeks.
However officials were using satellite phones to communicate with providers on the west side of Maui to restore power to the area, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said. Emergency and evacuation response efforts have been affected by widespread cell service disruption, which have prevented people from calling 911 or updating loved ones about their status, according to authorities.
Many in shelters in Maui Hawaii
According to mayor’s office, over 2,100 people were moved to four emergency shelters in Maui on Tuesday night adding that there was sufficient shelter capacity for an emergency response but only for a few days.
Meanwhile the Maui County officials were advising visitors to leave Lahaina and Maui as soon as possible, to avoid any further damage. The officials added that they have arranged flights for those who wanted to leave. Meanwhile over 11,000 people were flown out of Maui on Wednesday, according to Hawaii Department of Transportation director Ed Sniffen.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green have also advised people to avoid travelling to Maui, however, added that other areas of Hawaii, such as Waikiki and Oahu are open for travelers.
The official in Maui also informed that most of the hospitals in the County were over crowded with burn patients and people suffering from smoke inhalation adding that some patients should be taken elsewhere because Maui hospitals were not enough having fully treated the extensive burn cases, but transportation challenges have made that difficult.
