( spot video)
On 15 hawaiian local time, maui wildfire was confirmed to have caused more than 100 deaths, making it the most deadly wildfire in the united states for more than a century. For the rest of our lives, the american media and a wide range of internet users have been questioning why wildfires are so great. Why are the losses so heavy? How did america make the most deadly wildfire in 100 years
Maui is the second largest island in hawaii, with a population of over 100,000. The town of la haina, with some 13,000 inhabitants, was left with only broken walls and more than 2,200 buildings burned down. According to the latest data published by maui district, the wildfire, code-named “rahana”, that destroyed this famous tourist town, is currently 85 per cent under control. The governor of hawaii, green, has claimed losses of nearly $6 billion。
In terms of natural factors, multiple factors, such as strong winds, drought and flammable vegetation, together create conditions for the “explosive spread” of wildfires。
Meteorological experts noted that global climate change had led to increased intensity of extreme weather disasters, including wildfires. Hurricane dora, although passing only hundreds of kilometres south of the hawaiian islands, exacerbates the low-pressure system and increases the air-pressure differential, resulting in strong winds, which in some parts of maui are as high as 130 kilometres per hour。
The recent drought in maui has been increasing, and data from relevant agencies indicate that about 85 per cent of its area is in a moderate to severe drought. The media also highlighted the harmful effects of invasive alien plants on the island, which previously had large pineapple and sugar cane plantations on hawaiian islands, which, with the rise of the tourism industry, had lost many plantations and spread rapidly but flammable alien grass, covering about a quarter of hawaii's land, which had become ideal “fuels” for the spread of the fire。
Green indicated to the media that wildfires were spreading at a rate of 1. 6 kilometres per minute。
As search-and-rescue efforts continue and more details of the disaster are being disclosed, the gaps and lessons learned in wildfire prevention and response are increasingly being questioned and reflected。
A number of people deplored the government's weak response, saying that it had neither sounded warnings to the population to avoid risk nor cut electricity in time to avoid fires caused or exacerbated by the wind。
Hawaii claims to have the world's largest public safety alert system for outdoor networks, with some 400 alarms, 80 of which were in maui, but they did not ring during the wildfire。
A few days before the wildfire reportedly engulfed parts of maui island, weather forecasts warned the government that the wind could cause dangerous fires in many places. The hawaiian electrical company did not use “power outages”, which were considered extremely effective fire-fighting measures by many states after the severe wildfires of 2017 and 2018. The governor of maui district, richard bison, admitted that some 30 utility poles had been scraped by strong winds and that some of the utility poles were still on the ground. An electrical transformer belonging to the hawaii electric company (hanco) collapsed on 8 days, close to the initial fire。
Media reports also indicate that firefighters were surprised to discover that there was little water inside the fire bolts as they struggled to stop the fire. The water supply in the town of la haina is dependent on nearby stream surface water and groundwater extracted from wells. The prevailing wind on the day of the fire resulted in the inability of fire extinguishers to transport water from the nearby sea to fight the fire, while when the fire spreads, the pipes of the burned houses are dissolved and broken, leaks lead to lower pressure on the water pipelines and the capacity of the fire bolts becomes weaker。
In addition, the media revealed that, although wildfires are not uncommon in hawaii, officials are consciously underestimating their harm. Last year, hawaii released a report highlighting natural disasters that could cause serious harm, including tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which, while referring to wildfires, concluded that there was a “low” risk. A 2021 report on wildfire prevention in maui district acknowledged that the area of excess fire was soaring, but that there were insufficient funds to prevent and reduce the threat of wildfire。
The hawaiian state prosecution service has announced a review of disaster response. According to the media, investigators will ask many questions about the tragedy in the future。
Plan: qi huijie sang-jun
Production: quail, hu kuoxiang
Final: seo-rai
