Observation by CCTV reporters | Failure to respond to the Maui Island fire in Hawaii | Negligence and inability of the US government | Loss of public support | Fire | Maui Island, Hawaii | La Haina area
On August 8th, a major fire broke out on Maui Island in Hawaii, United States. According to official data released on the 24th, the fire has caused 115 deaths and hundreds more people are missing.
The fire on Maui Island in Hawaii has exposed multiple problems for the local government: being powerless in responding to a major disaster and being slow to respond after the disaster occurs. This big fire can be said to be a natural disaster, but it is also a man-made disaster.
CCTV reporter Jin Dong: This is the La Haina area of Maui Island, Hawaii, which was severely affected by the fire. The fire has exposed many problems: there was no alarm before the fire occurred, there was a lack of water source during firefighting, and rescue efforts were slow after the fire occurred. This has caused the public to lose confidence in the US government.
Lahaina disaster victims: My new apartment is located near Qianjie. I just bought it and now the house is no longer there. There was no warning at that time, not at all.
Maui resident Wally: The government says that the alarm system is actually designed for tsunamis, not fires. If the alarm is sounded, the public will think that a tsunami has occurred and people will run up the mountain, but in fact, the mountain is on fire. The government has done a lot of things wrong, and it's too late to talk about it now.
Angel, a resident of Maui Island: I don't understand the decision not to sound the alarm. I think everyone is smart enough not to run into the big fire.
According to local residents, the US government's rescue and relief work for this disaster is also very lagging behind, and early rescue work was almost entirely organized by local residents spontaneously. Since the fire broke out, various rescue efforts by the federal government have also been delayed.
The residents of Maui Island, Hanyi: We know the government will be slow, so we take care of ourselves. As Hawaiians, we know we can take care of ourselves. But there are many people here who don't have the skills we have learned since childhood, and there are also many elderly people who don't have the ability to do too much work, so we have to take care of them. We have prepared canned food, drinking water, and hot meals every day.
It is understood that on August 15th, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved approximately $2.3 million in disaster relief assistance. On August 14th, the US State Department announced that it would provide an additional $200 million in military support to Ukraine. Analysis suggests that the indifference of American politicians towards the Maui disaster is rooted in the competitive party politics of the United States, and the hard currency of this politics is votes. Hawaii belongs to the United States Overseas Territories, and the majority of the residents on Maui Island are Indigenous. American politicians have always ignored the interests and demands of this group, lacking the motivation to care about them.
The major fire outbreak on Maui Island has revealed a serious lack of emergency management and social responsibility by the US government. People say that their homes can be rebuilt in the future, but the emotional trauma is difficult to heal.
