Thousands of Hawaiian residents have been displaced from their homes in Maui due to the raging wildfires in Lahaina, Kula, and Olinda. It’s reported that there have already been at least 53 deaths as a result of the wildfires, with thousands of acres torched. Capital exposure is estimated to be $5.52 billion for the recovery of these regions, where 86% of the affected buildings are residential buildings.
Moreover, the Hawaiian island of Maui has historically suffered from hurricanes around this time of year due to its southern location on the Pacific Ocean, where warmer surface waters allow for tropical storms to reach the chain of islands. While the wildfires were raging on the island, Hurricane Dora’s Category 4 winds blowing from the south stoked the flames, amplifying the expected magnitude of the wildfires into the worst disaster the state has seen in decades.
By Grace Wang