At least 93 dead after fires in Hawaii

At least 93 people have died in the fires that ravaged the island of Maui, Hawaii, a new toll that has earned authorities a shower of criticism.

“It’s going to keep going up. We want people to be prepared for that,” state governor John Green warned Saturday.

In a landscape of desolation, the residents seek to understand how the drama could take on such proportions. Justice too: an investigation has been opened into the management of the crisis by the authorities.

Maui suffered numerous power outages during the crisis and the 911 emergency number stopped working in parts of the island, while fire alarm sirens were not activated.

“The alerts, usually transmitted by telephone, could not be received because there was no network and clearly, we did not provide backup solutions to ensure the safety of the inhabitants”, admitted Jill Tokuda, Democratic Representative of Hawaii, on CNN on Saturday.

“We underestimated the dangerousness and the speed of the fire. We have to improve,” regretted the elected Democrat.