Death toll on Maui reaches 53 with warnings it could rise further

The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui has risen to 53, officials say, while warning that it will likely increase again.

Images showed the resort town of Lahaina had been reduced to rubble and grey ash, with more than 1,000 structures scorched to the ground.

“Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down,” Hawaii Governor Josh Green told The Associated Press.

“We are heartsick,” he said.

He said the death toll will likely rise as search and rescue operations continue, and officials expect it will become the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1961 tsunami killed 61 people on the Big Island.

The current death toll makes it the deadliest US wildfire since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and burnt the town of Paradise.

The search and rescue operation is still underway, with emergency workers now reaching parts of the island that had been inaccessible due to three ongoing fires.

“We are still in life preservation mode. Search and rescue is still a primary concern,” said Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

The exact cause of the fires has not yet been determined, but they were fuelled by a dry summer, low humidity and strong winds from passing Hurricane Dora, started on Tuesday and picked up pace rapidly.

Tourists have been advised to stay away from the island, with 11,000 already flying out of Maui earlier this week.

President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster on the island and pledged that the federal response will ensure that “anyone who’s lost a loved one, or whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately”.

Mr Biden promised to streamline requests for assistance and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was “surging emergency personnel” on the island.

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