Biden Says Will Visit Hawaii Soon As Wildfire Toll Crosses 100, People Unhappy With Govt Response

US President Joe Biden has said he would visit Hawaii as soon as he can as deadly wildfires rip thorough the island.

US President Joe Biden has said he would visit Hawaii as soon deadly wildfires rip thorough the island.

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After being criticised over his response to the deadly Hawaii wildfires, US President Joe Biden has said he will visit the island "as soon as he can". This comes as the toll reached 101 on Tuesday with 1,300 people missing.

As the residents of the island complained about the government's response to the disaster, Biden said he hadn't visited Hawaii yet as he was concerned that would divert the attention from the ongoing humanitarian response.

"I don't want to get in the way. I've been to too many disaster areas. I want to be sure we don't disrupt ongoing recovery efforts," he said, as quoted by BBC.

Assuring assistance and help to battle the crisis, Biden said additional personnel were being dispatched to help those on the ground.

Over 500 emergency personnel have been sent to help with relief efforts, including 150 search and rescue specialists.

Biden said "all available federal assets" in the region would be used for recovery efforts, including the US military and Coast Guard.

"It's painstaking work. It takes time and it's nerve-wracking," he said.

 

On Monday, Governor Josh Green said that only 25 per cent of the affected area had been properly searched for human remains, adding that approximately 80 per cent of Lahaina -- a historic town of about 12,000 residents -- has been completely destroyed in the blaze, news agency IANS reported.

Les Munn, a local, told the BBC that he has received only $500 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) which has approved one-time payments of $700 per household to help with immediate needs in the wake of the disaster.

Another local, Felicia Johnson, said, "Everybody wants the glory but nobody wants to put their feet on the ground".

Another women shared she was afraid that she would starve to death in the days after the fire.

 

Liz Germansky, who lost her home in the fire, said that "the government's getting in the way of people helping". "I don't think the government could have done less," she told the BBC.