Hawaii’s Biggest Disaster Kills 55 With 1,000 Still Missing
- Rescue, clean-up crews are pouring into historic Lahaina
- Residents allowed back Friday, curfew will be imposed
Passengers waiting for delayed and canceled flights off the island in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
Rescue and clean-up crews are now pouring into the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina, which has been leveled to ash and rubble in what the governor describes as the state’s largest-ever natural disaster.
Fast-moving wildfires killed at least 55, and the police chief said it’s likely 1,000 people remain unaccounted for. Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned that the death toll is probably going to keep rising as search crews dig through the damage that he characterized as looking like a bomb scene. Accuweather Inc. put the preliminary estimate of damage from the fires at $8 billion to $10 billion.