US: Death toll in Hawaii wildfires rises to 67

The death toll from the devastating wildfires in Hawaii has climbed to 67 CNN reported citing the Maui County governmentThe government in the statement said The Lahaina fire is not yet contained Earlier Hawaii Governor Josh Green said that the death toll from the wildfires on the island of Maui in Hawaii reaches 59Speaking to CNN Green said that all those deaths occurred in the open and not in buildings as people were trying to escape the fire He said that there will be more fatalities Josh Green said Without a doubt there will be more fatalities We do not know ultimately how many will have occurredHawaiis Governor ordered a comprehensive review of the states actions in the hours after the wildfires erupted on the islands earlier this week including why warning sirens were not utilised to alert people on MauiSpeaking to CNN Green said I authorized a comprehensive review this morning to make sure that we know exactly what happened and whenHe said that the emergency officials particularly faced challenges as the flames burning near Lahaina which ultimately turned into a firestorm that razed nearly all of the historic town had died down for sometime before suddenly reigniting and firefighters had shifted their focus to other areas on the islandThe telecommunications were destroyed very rapidly at that point Green said meaning that the tightknit community was unable to alert one another by phone as they typically do when there is an emergency That communication was cut off the governor saidGreen said he is not going to make any excuse for anyone However the multiple fires burning at once had caused a very fluid situation across the islands He said that despite those challenges they will do everything that can to find out to protect the peopleUS President Joe Biden spoke with Hawaii Governor Josh Green on Friday after the latter completed a survey of destruction across MauiWhite House in a statement said The Governor provided the President with a firsthand update and assessment of Hawaiiiquestiquests latest needs and thanked the President for the support of FEMA and other federal agencies CNN reportedOn Thursday US President Joe Biden declared Hawaii wildfires a major disaster and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas impacted by the wildfires since August 8 Bidens action makes federal funding available to impacted people in Maui CountyA White House statement said Today President Joseph R Biden Jr declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Hawaii and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires beginning on August 8 2023 and continuingThe assistance announced by Biden includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs lowcost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help people and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster according to the White House statementThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever