TRANSCRIPT
The death toll from the wildfire that has levelled the seafront town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui, is continuing to rise.
Authorities have now confirmed 96 bodies have been recovered.
Hawaii's governor Josh Green says that number is likely to rise.
"Families will come together, but there's a lot of loss here. And I think we're going to see significantly higher numbers in the coming days as our professionals from FEMA and Maui Fire and Police do their job. We're proud of them for doing their job. It's very hard for them too because they knew and loved these neighbours."
Allison Schaefers is the Bureau chief at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper.
She tells SBS that hundreds of people are still missing.
"We're really only beginning. So far, we have had only 93 bodies recovered. And we have about 700 people on a informal Google list that are still marked as missing. That's better than it was a few days ago. But today we had the ... No I think that was actually the the Hawaii governor has said that they are still trying to connect with about 1000 people yet."
Ms Schaefers hopes those missing have simply not been able to get in touch due to internet and power outages.
"We've been without power for a large part of this natural disaster. There have been cellphone problems and communication problems, internet problems, and they're also been logistical travel problems for people. So we're hoping that more of these people are going to be found. But the reality is, they've only searched with the cadaver dogs about three percent of the two thousand something acreage and so the thought is that we will probably more than likely be at least into the triple digits."
Among those who saw the death and devastation first-hand but was able to flee to safety is Cole Millington.
The founder of the Honolulu Hot Sauce Company gives a harrowing account of what he saw.
"At about 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon on August 8th, I saw a huge black plume of smoke out of my bedroom window. I happened to look out my bedroom window and see it. I immediately told my roommates, hey, this looks pretty serious. ... I immediately warned my roommates and said we should we should start thinking about going. Within ten or fifteen minutes we had to be in our cars, peeling out of our driveways because the entire sky was covered in black smoke and there were downed power lines down trees everywhere."
Attempting to escape the inferno Mr Millington and his roommates found themselves stuck in traffic.
"I pulled out of my driveway and tried to get on the one road that leads out of Lahaina and there was already thousands of cars in front of me. It was standstill traffic. In my rear view mirror, you could see fire crossing the road, potentially affecting people and cars in that line. I didn't see people running yet, but I'm sure they did. I have a lifted four-wheel drive truck, so I just started going whichever way I could to get out. And it took us about three hours to get to the centre of the island, which should be about a twenty five, thirty minute drive."
He escaped with his life, but lost everything else.
"My house is completely flattened and leveled onto the ground. There's nothing left of my house or my business. There's nothing left of my neighborhood, there's nothing left for my community and my friends. I have dozens of friends who are missing and possibly dead, and it's pretty scary."
Media tycoon and billionaire, Oprah Winfrey was in an emergency shelter in Maui on Monday, not as an evacuee, but as a philanthropist.
Everyday since the disaster she has been out shopping for items and delivering them in person to those who are staying in emergency shelters.
“I consider myself a resident, I have my rainbow driver's license here and I will be here for the long haul and doing what I can. You know, I felt as helpless as so many of you who are watching us right now and not really knowing what to do. And so I've just been doing whatever I could. Today, I brought back the personal hygiene products, and the other day was towels and sheets and pillows. And the day before that, it was water."
Ms Winfrey owns a sprawling estate in Maui made up of 870 acres of land in Kula, 35 kilometres from Lahaina, which she purchased for just over A$10 million last March.
In addition, she owns 1,000 acres of ranch land, which includes an 11-room bed-and-breakfast on 17 acres in Kula, she purchased in 2004, according to The Maui News.
She also owns more than 200 acres of coastal land in Hana, a 35 minute drive away from Lahaina.
Ms Winfrey says people have nowhere to go.
"The most important thing is finding places for people to stay. I think they've been completely, you know, their lives are completely shattered. I know that our godfather of Maui, Shep Gordon and Airbnb folks have been talking about finding spaces for people where they can be and and and live rent free for a while. And so I'm in conversations with that and also just, you know, trying to keep people's spirits up."
On the ground in the disaster zone, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) is also working to lift people's spirits as they struggle through the disaster which some have described as being apocalyptic.
White House Press Secretary Karinne Jean-Pierre.
"There are already more than 300 FEMA employees on the ground aiding response efforts. FEMA has provided 50,000 meals, 75,000 liters of water, 5,000 cots and 10,000 blankets to the county government for distribution. The Coast Guard and the Navy Third Fleet supported response and rescue effort the day after the fires first started. And the Marines provided Blackhawk helicopters to fight fires on the big island. With that, Administrator Criswell will provide an update."
FEMA Director Deanne Criswell:
“Right now, our focus is on making sure that we are doing everything we can to account for everybody that has been unaccounted for. And the president has given me the space to make sure I'm bringing in all of the appropriate federal personnel and resources to do that. And so we will continue to do that. Right now, we want to make sure that they have all of the resources and the space that they need and not disrupt operations right now."
According to witnesses, some locals with guns tried to enter burned buildings to find valuables, which caused some confusion and disrupted the cleanup effort.
Locals have taken to social media showing downed power lines setting trees alight minutes before the inferno engulfed Lahaina.
They allege that the power company did not cut off the power supply in time when the hurricane arrived.
At present, the fire-fighting work in Maui continues, but the weather forecast shows that the county will be hit by strong winds again, testing firefighting efforts.
