On Maui. Rumors from first responders point to a death toll in the hundreds. Lahaina town looks like it was bombed and we won't know how many people are lost until all the rubble can be searched.

If there are any deep pocketed Lemmy friends out there, please have a look at Hawaii Community Foundation or other local organizations. Please be diligent if donating, as the bot-farmed fake donation scams are already starting to pop up online.

Thank you

What a tragic situation. Does anyone know of any good relief efforts that are helping out in Hawaii right now? I feel like they're going to be needing a lot of help to recover from this.

We're so close to seeing a fire tornado go from fiction to reality.

I work at a bar with a regular with family and property on Maui. He was frantic trying to get ahold of people but got sent a video of people fleeing with multiple bodies on the ground as they try to escape the flames. Death count is definitely higher.

Damn was there nowhere to evacuate to? (Makes sense being an island and all)

Edit: damn first thing tiktok shows me is people getting into the water while everything burns around them

Oh wow, I missed that, crazy. I hope it doesn't get much worse.

The state’s tourism chief Jimmy Tokioka acknowledged the tragedy but reiterated that the “rest of Hawaii is open”

Well then.

That is the Hawaiian gods telling tourists to stop visiting.

I really hope people use this to take climate change more seriously