Death toll from Hawaii wildfires nears 100

By Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) – The death toll from Hawaii wildfires has risen to 99, authorities said on Monday.

Maui’s police chief John Pelletier said that 75% of hardest-hit areas in the town of Lahaina have not been searched yet, according to Hawaii News Now.

Pelletier said that 20 cadaver dogs are accompanying search and rescue teams.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green told a news conference on Monday that the death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue teams “could recover 10 to 20 people a day going forward,” according to CBS News.

"The dogs can only work 15 minutes at a time and then they overheat," Green said.

Green also said that about 2,000 housing units have been secured for evacuated residents and pledged that at least 36 weeks of housing would be provided.

The Maui wildfires are the "largest natural disaster Hawaii has ever experienced," said Green, adding: "It's been also a natural disaster that's going to take an incredible amount of time to recover from."

The financial burden of the losses caused by the wildfires has reached $6 billion with around 2,200 structures destroyed, said Green.

A total of six fires broke out last Tuesday, devastating the Big Island and Maui.