The death toll from the devastating wildfires on Hawaii’s Maui island has risen to 55, but officials believe the figure “could go up” as search and rescue operations continue.
The disaster claimed the lives of at least 55 people, according to the most recent figures offered noon Eastern Friday. However, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen believes the death toll “could go up.”
Eighty percent of the coastal town of Lahaina has been utterly destroyed. Shocking images showcase the extent of the sheer devastation. Gov. Josh Green (D) said it looks as if a “bomb hit Lahaina.”
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He told CNN:
It looks like total devastation. Buildings that we’ve all enjoyed and celebrated together for decades, for generations, are completely destroyed. I mean smoldering still. Only a few stone buildings are still partially up. Looks to me that about 80 percent of Lahaina is gone.
Nearly 11,000 customers are without power in Maui County alone.
Lahaina resident May Wedelin Lee is among those expressing gratitude for getting out when she could.
“I’m just lucky to get out of there when I did. It’s just the worst scenario possible times ten,” she told NBC News Now. “It’s seeing everything you love, seeing your whole life just go up in flames, literally go up in flames, in front of you.”
“It was minutes; it happened so fast. The smoke jumped, the fire jumped, explosions were happening,” she added.
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On Friday, Gov. Green declared that the damage from the wildfires is “likely the largest natural disaster in Hawai’i state history.”