In reaction to criticism of his administration’s handling of the biggest natural disaster to ever affect the state, President Joe Biden visited the wildfire destruction in Hawaii.
He told survivors that the country “grieves with you” as he arrived in Maui on Monday, 13 days after the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.
Mr. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greeted first responders while touring the burned-out remnants of Lahaina.
850 individuals are still missing, and there have been at least 114 fatalities.
The governor of Hawaii has suggested that many of the victims may be youngsters.
During his about 10-minute speech amidst the debris, Mr. Biden stated, “For as long as it takes, we’re going to be with you.” “Everyone in the nation will support you.”
The nation “grieves with you, stands with you, and will do everything in its power to help you recover,” he continued.
Mr. Biden called the destruction “overwhelming” after viewing the wildfire wreckage from the air.
Hawaiians have criticized the president and the federal agencies he is in charge of, claiming that relief has been insufficient and badly coordinated.
Hawaii victims include a musician and a devoted grandmother.
It can take years to find the victims of the Hawaii wildfires.
The Democratic president has been under pressure from Republicans for taking two vacations since the incident on August 8th.
Mr. Biden interrupted his current vacation at Lake Tahoe in Nevada, where he is renting a property owned by a Democratic contributor, to travel to Hawaii. This is according to the White House.
Mr. Biden infuriated several Hawaiians by responding “No comment” to a question about the mounting death toll when he was enjoying a Delaware beach on August 13.
According to the White House, Mr. Biden postponed his travel to the disaster area so he wouldn’t interfere with relief efforts.
To hasten federal financing and help to the region, the president declared a major disaster on August 10.
More than 1,000 federal responders, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are currently in Hawaii.
Additionally, local officials have come under fire. Last Monday, the agency’s emergency management director resigned after criticism for not sounding the alert after the incident.
According to earlier statements made by Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, 27 of the deceased have been identified to date, and 11 relatives have been contacted.
In recent days, information about the victims has started to surface; they so far include a passionate musician as well as loving grandmothers and fathers.
The number of 850 missing, according to Mr. Bissen, was “positive news” in some ways because it represented a drop from the more over 2,000 unaccounted for in the immediate aftermath of the fires.
In order to aid in the recovery hunt, families of the missing have been urged to donate a DNA sample.
Given the extent of the destruction and the likely state of many of the bones, experts have informed the BBC that discovering and identifying the victims might take months or perhaps years.
