CLEVELAND — As recovery efforts continue on the island of Maui in Hawaii after last week's deadly Lahaina fire, 3News is partnering with the American Red Cross to help raise money for those impacted by the tragedy.
Here are three ways you can donate right now:
- Text the word HAWAII to 90999 to make a $10 donation
- Call 1-800 REDCROSS
- Visit redcross.org/NOH to make a donation online
3News' Leon Bibb will be reporting live at the Disaster Operations Center in Cleveland throughout our evening newscasts today to provide more details on the recovery efforts happening in Hawaii.
The death toll has now climbed to at least 106 people, according to the latest update from Wednesday morning.
“It’s going to be a very, very difficult mission,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deputy assistant secretary Jonathan Greene said. “And patience will be incredibly important because of the number of victims.”
The Associated Press is reporting the Lahaina fire "caused about $3.2 billion in insured property losses, according to calculations by Karen Clark & Company, a prominent disaster and risk modeling company." That total does not include damage to uninsured property.
The American Red Cross shared the following update Tuesday regarding the situation in Hawaii:
Our heartfelt sympathies are with the people of Hawaii whose way of life, rich with traditions and customs, has been forever altered by the deadliest wildfires in the last 100 years.
Thousands of residents are looking for missing loved ones, having lost their homes and everything they held dear. Early reports indicate the climate-driven fires destroyed as many as 2,200 structures, most of which were homes.
While fires continue to burn in some areas, first responders are still conducting search and rescue efforts, and communities will not reopen until these efforts are completed. Residents are being warned about possible toxic fumes and contaminated running water. More than 4,500 customers are still without electricity while phone service is slowly being restored. Where cell service is available, it is still limited and users are asked to text instead of calling.
RED CROSS RESPONSE During this frustrating and uncertain time, the American Red Cross is caring for families 24/7 by providing them with a safe place to stay, food to eat and emotional support.
In coordination with the county government, trained Red Cross disaster workers are supporting emergency shelters on the islands of Maui and Oahu. Over the coming days, we will expand shelters into multi-purpose service centers. In addition to providing a safe place to stay and food to eat, these centers will help people access relief supplies, health, mental health and spiritual care services, support with finding loved ones and casework assistance as people plan their next steps.
Since the fires began, the Red Cross and partners have provided 4,000 overnight shelter stays in 11 emergency shelters. With the help of partners, we have also provided more than 25,000 meals and snacks to people in need. We have received more than 1,360 reunification information requests and have successfully completed more than 400 of those requests.
Our preliminary damage assessment process is days ahead of our typical timeframe, a result of our partnership with Microsoft's AI for Good Research Lab that is using sophisticated AI models and satellite imagery to analyze the extent of the damage.
More than 270 trained Red Cross disaster workers — from Maui, other Hawaiian islands and all corners of the country — are helping now with more on their way. Disaster workers are also virtually helping people affected by the fires. People on the islands want to help and we are grateful for the some 6,000 local residents that have begun their Red Cross volunteer training since the fires began. If you are interested in volunteering, visit redcross.org/volunteertoday
Our work in Hawaii is just beginning. The Red Cross has been there from day one and will be there in the weeks and months to come helping people recover from this tragedy. We are working with our partners to get help to where it is needed as quickly as possible. This includes moving more relief supplies to Maui from the continental U.S. and distributing food and relief supplies as soon things are in place to make this possible.
