By Jondi Gumz
The American Red Cross is in Hawaii, working to help those affected by wildfires that damaged or destroyed 2,200 structures, 80% residential, and great loss of life in the western Maui town of Lahaina. The downtown commercial area in the town of 13,000 is gone.
On Wednesday, the death toll was 106, with 1,300 people unaccounted for.
Red Cross disaster workers have opened shelters across Maui to provide refuge for thousands of residents and tourists displaced by wildfires that began Aug. 8 and were made more destructive by winds from Hurricane Dora. A video by Shane Treu shows a wooden power pole snapping, falling an igniting dry grass.
As of Aug 11, about 240 Red Crossers from Hawaii and across the U.S. are either preparing to leave, en route, or on the ground supporting those affected; 15 responders are from the Northern California Coastal Region, and more local volunteers remain on standby.
“My heart and soul are with the people of Maui. The unimaginable devastation tallied in lives, and property is beyond horrific,” said Megan Erk, a long-time Red Cross volunteer from Santa Cruz County and board member of the Central Coast Chapter, whose family lived in Lahaina part-time for many years.
“My family has deep connections with West Maui,” she said. “The waters off Maui were where our son Aleks learned to swim, and snorkel. The historic church in Lahaina where Aleks and thousands of other keiki (children) first danced the hula has been reduced to ashes. Everything is just gone.”
On this deployment, she has been tapped as assistant director of external relations.
“She added, “Please know that the entire team working on this response will lean in with everything we have to fulfill the mission of the American Red Cross. It is what we do, and who we are.”
Working with officials and disaster partners, Red Cross teams are providing evacuees with a safe place to stay, food to eat and emotional support. More help is on the way as disaster teams deploy from the other Hawaiian Islands and across the country.
“We’re doing what we do best: helping people in their time of need,” said Hanna Malak, CEO of the Northern California Coastal Region of the Red Cross. The death toll is expected to climb.
The Los Angeles Times reported: “Records indicate that neither the state nor the county activated sirens ahead of the fire, though other systems were used, including messages broadcast to television stations, radios and cellphones. But with the power out and communications systems down, many residents reported receiving no alerts.”
Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesman Adam Weintraub told NPR that the siren system was not activated, but he did not explain why.
He emphasized that alerts were sent to cellphones and to TV and radio stations.
On Twitter, some said the government prevented people from provided supplies to those in need because they were not FEMA-approved. People stood in long lines to get orange placards allowing them to drive. An officer announced with a loudspeaker that the placards were discontinued, and he didn’t know why.
Some compared $700 per household FEMA offered to Maui residents, about $1.9 million, to the $100 billion in aid the U.S. has sent to Ukraine to defend against the Russian invasion.
President Biden, who declared a national disaster on Aug. 10, is to visit on Aug. 21.
•••
How to Help
Make a donation: Financial donations are the quickest and best way to help those who need it most. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767), or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
As of Aug. 16, FEMA provided $2.3 million to 1,330+ Maui households, including $800,000 in initial rental assistance. FEMA asks survivors to register for aid; call 800-621-3362.
Top Photo Courtesy of FEMA