The number of deaths due to the wildfires in Hawaii has increased to 89, NBC News reports, citing Hawaii Governor Josh Green.
The death toll makes the Maui wildfires the deadliest in modern US history.
The disaster has officially become deadlier than California’s Camp Fire which killed 85 people in 2018.
“It’s an impossible day,” The Guardian quoted governor Josh Green informing the mediapersons on Saturday after viewing the devastation.
He said the fire would “certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced."
“We can only wait and support those who are living. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding,” he said, according to The Guardian.
At a press conference later he repeated his warning that the death toll would rise. Dogs trained to detect bodies have covered only 3% of the search area, Maui county police chief John Pelletier said.
Earlier on Saturday, Maui County said in a statement that firefighting efforts continue in Lahaina, Pulehu/Kihei, and Upcountry Maui.