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The death toll from the Maui wildfires in the U.S. state of Hawaii reached 114 on Friday while more than 60 percent of the disaster area has been searched, authorities said.
The Maui Police Department confirmed in an update that the total number of fatalities in the deadly wildfires has increased to 114, up from Thursday's 111.
In a televised speech, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said that the number of lives lost in the disaster is "expected to increase each day" as the search for victims continues.
"The scope of devastation on Maui is difficult to express in words," said the governor, noting that more than 2,200 buildings have been destroyed and another 500 have been damaged at an estimated cost of nearly $6 billion.
"Now, we are engaged in the difficult work of searching for survivors, reuniting separated families and identifying the remains of those we've lost," Green said.
There are now approximately 470 search and rescue workers and 40 search dogs combing through the hundreds of burnt buildings, according to the governor.
"We will rebuild Lahaina. It will take years of work and billions of dollars, but we are committed to this effort, and together we will meet this challenge," the governor said.
Deadly wildfires have scorched much of the historic town of Lahaina, a popular tourist spot on Maui and once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. It's home to around 13,000 residents.
Green said he has ordered a comprehensive assessment of every detail of the emergency response to the fires on Maui.
With at least 1,000 people still unaccounted for, recovery teams in Lahaina are racing against time to cover as much ground as possible before heavy rains are slated to move in next week, reported local news outlet Hawaii News Now.
Nearly half the land area in the United States is composed of forest, shrubland, and grassland, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There are currently almost 45 million U.S. homes located near or adjacent to such areas.
The National Interagency Fire Center estimates there are 71.8 million properties in the United States that are "at some level of risk from wildfire."
Since 2018, wildfires in the United States have destroyed nearly 63,000 structures, the majority of which were homes.
The White House said in a statement earlier this week that U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Maui on Monday to meet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state and local officials.
(CGTN)
