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23-08-2023
HAWAII: President Joe Biden has toured wildfire damage in Hawaii after scrutiny of his administration’s response to the state’s worst ever natural disaster.
He arrived in Maui on Monday, 13 days after the deadliest US wildfire in over a century, telling survivors the nation “grieves with you”.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden toured the charred ruins of the town of Lahaina and met first responders.
At least 114 people have died and 850 people are still missing
Hawaii’s governor has said many of the victims may be children.
“For as long as it takes, we’re going to be with you,” said Biden, who spoke for about 10 minutes amid the rubble. “The whole country will be with you.”
He added: “The country grieves with you, stands with you and will do everything possible to help you recover.”
Biden who also took an aerial tour described the wildfire devastation as “overwhelming”.
The president and the federal agencies he oversees have come under fire from Hawaiians who say aid has been inadequate and poorly organized.
Republicans have led criticism of the Democratic president for having been on two holidays since the fire struck on 8 August.
To visit Hawaii, Biden paused his current vacation at Lake Tahoe in Nevada, where he is renting a home belonging to a Democratic donor, according to the White House.
When asked about the rising death toll on 13 August while he was at a Delaware beach, Biden angered some Hawaiians by saying: “No comment”.
The White House has said Biden delayed his trip to the disaster zone so he wouldn’t distract from recovery operations.
The president issued a major disaster declaration on 10 August to expedite federal funding and assistance to the area.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says more than 1,000 federal responders are now on the ground in Hawaii.
Local officials have also faced criticism. Maui’s emergency management chief resigned last week after the agency faced backlash for failing to activate its alarm system in the wake of the fire. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
