The forest fires in Hawaii

Lahaina, Hawaii. Rick Bowmer/AP  

The forest fires in Hawaii  

The warning systems in Hawaii did not work  

Hawaii emergency management records show no sign that warning sirens wailed before people had to flee for their lives from wildfires on the island of Maui. This is reported by AP.  

Instead, authorities sent alerts to cellphones, televisions and radio stations. However, widespread power outages and cell outages may have limited their range, and many never received any warning messages at all.  

Island resident Claire Kent tells the New York Times that they received no information about the wildfire. 

- There were no police officers with megaphones telling people to evacuate, she tells the newspaper.  

At least 55 people have been reported dead in the fires. Thousands of people have been evacuated and the historic town of Lahaina has largely burned down.  

Lahaina, Hawaii. AP 

Forced into the water: "Say goodbye to the family"  

The mother of three, Tee Dang, tells the BBC how she and her family were forced to escape the forest fires in Hawaii by swimming out to sea.  

Dang says her family said goodbye to each other in the water because they were sure they were going to die. At one point, her daughter passed out in the water. 

- We saw a fireman coming. He was helping people up and I just screamed “I have a child. I have one child".  

During the night of Friday, it was reported that at least 55 people should have died in the fires on Maui. Around 1,000 people are missing, according to unconfirmed information. 

Authorities are still trying to locate and identify the victims of the fire disaster in the coastal town of Lahaina, where almost nothing has been saved.