Maui fire: Fires are 'worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced'

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Watch: Extensive devastation left by Maui wildfires

The huge wildfires that have caused massive damage in Hawaii are the "worst natural disaster" that the US state has ever faced.

That's the message from the islands' Governor Josh Green, who promised more help for those affected.

"It's an impossible day," Mr Green said. "We can only wait and support those who are living. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding."

While the wildfires are now largely under control, efforts to put them out completely are still continuing in parts of the island.

Image source, Senator Tim Richards on Facebook

Investigations are still going on into what sparked the fires. However experts say drought and unusually dry conditions across large parts of Hawaii - including the entire island of Maui - played a role.

Strong winds from Hurricane Dora, which passed Hawaii's coast on Tuesday, helped fan the flames even further.

Hawaii is one of the 50 US states and, Jeremy Greenberg, a senior official at America's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), says that extra support being sent included search and rescue, and fire fighting teams.

"The absolute number one priority is survivor safety," he said.

Fact File
  • The state of Hawaii is officially made up of 137 volcanic islands that cover an area of 1,500 miles (2,400 km)

  • The eight main islands are Maui, Oahu, Kahoolawe, Kauai, Lanai, Molokai, Niihau and Hawaii - after which the state is named

  • About 1.4 million people live in the state of Hawaii and in 2019 more than 10 million tourists came to visit

Image source, Reuters

In an emergency shelter at Maui's War Memorial Complex, hundreds of evacuees continued to gather, receiving food, toiletries and medical aid from a still-growing number of volunteers.

Large whiteboards listed the things that people needed most - batteries, water, and power generators.

However, there have also been complaints from locals that the authorities weren't properly prepared for what happened, and now they aren't doing enough and help isn't getting through quickly enough.

"We've had a lot of great reunions happen in this parking lot," said Keapo Bissen, a member of the team helping people. "That's really been the bright side in all of this."

It is thought that more than 2,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed since the fires broke out. The majority of these were homes in the area of Lahaina on Maui.

Thousands of people have been evacuated and more than 90 are known to have died.

The cost of rebuilding Maui has been estimated at $5.5bn (£4.3bn), according to the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and FEMA, which is coordinating the relief effort.