An aerial image taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON / Agence France-Presse)
MANILA, Philippines — The authorities might take long to identify the bodies of those who died in the catastrophic Hawaii wildfires given their “severe damage,” Emilio Fernandez, the Philippine consul general in Honolulu, told INQUIRER.net in a text message on Tuesday.
According to Fernandez, the number of fatalities in the forest fires has climbed to 99, but the local authorities in Hawaii have yet to identify the victims.
“At this time, only 3% of the affected area had been searched. The death toll is expected to increase and will surely increase in the coming days. Authorities say it is difficult to state when the search for victims will be complete, given the unsafe structures,” Fernandez said.
“Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said the identification of remains will take time because of the severe damage sustained by the bodies. Those who are missing their loved ones [were instructed] to submit DNA samples to facilitate identification of remains,” he added.
Apart from the reported deaths, the number of missing individuals is estimated at 1,000. But similar to the fatalities, local authorities in Hawaii have also “not provided the identities of those who are injured and missing, including the ethnicity or nationality of all those affected.”
“The estimated data provided by local authorities on those missing did not distinguish as to nationality, so we can’t say how many among them were Filipino citizens,” Fernandez said.
But the consul general said they were continuously responding to the concerns of the public, disclosing that the consulate had already responded to around 50 calls inquiring about how to find their relatives.
The consulate also attended to questions on how to acquire replacements for documents burned during the fire.
Meanwhile, Fernandez said emergency consular services in Maui would resume on Aug. 16. This will be rendered by a team of four people from the consulate with the goal of visiting wildfire-stricken Filipinos.