Maui wildfires: 8 key points about Hawaii's deadliest disaster

Aug 17, 2023, 11:16 IST

Srishti Sisodia

All Images: Reuters

Aug 17, 2023, 11:16 IST

Srishti Sisodia

Wildfires on Hawaii's Maui have killed more than 100 people.

Tens of thousands of residents and tourists have evacuated the island.

The fires started the night of August 8 and wreaked widespread destruction in Lahaina. 

The fire destroyed or damaged more than 2,200 buildings, 86% of them residential.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates it will cost $5.5 billion to rebuild the town.

The Maui blaze is the deadliest US wildfire since 1918 when northern Minnesota's Cloquet Fire claimed 453 lives.

Hawaii wildfires also constitute the most lethal disaster to hit the islands since a tsunami that killed 61 people in 1960.

The cause of the fires has not yet been determined, but some reports suggest that power lines likely caused Maui's first reported fire.

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