The death toll in Maui, Hawaii, has reached 93 as the devastating wildfires become the deadliest in US modern history.
After visiting the “ground zero” of the destruction in Lahania, Hawaii governor Josh Green said it is clear “there is very little left there”.
The blazes on the island are now the country’s worst in terms of casualties for over a century, while authorities have warned that the effort to find and identify the dead is still in its early stages, as crews with cadaver dogs have covered just three per cent of the search area.
“It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced,” Gov Green said earlier. The newly released death toll passed that of the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead and destroyed the town of Paradise.
Many fire survivors said they did not hear any sirens or receive a warning, only realising they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions. Officials sent alerts but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
