The actor, who also appeared in Blue Crush and Hawaii Five-0, was a lifeguard and professional surfer, described as a ‘legendary waterman’
Pirates of the Caribbean actor Tamayo Perry has died following a shark attack in Hawaii.
Perry, who also appeared in Blue Crush and Hawaii Five-0, was surfing at Malaekahana beach on the Hawaiian island of Oahu when he died on Sunday afternoon.
Continue reading...The eruption began early Monday in a remote area that last saw lava a half-century ago, with ‘absolutely no property in danger’
Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting early on Monday in a remote area that last erupted a half-century ago, the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.
The eruption is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Kilauea caldera, in an area within Hawaii Volcanoes national park that last erupted in December 1974. The area surrounding the caldera has been closed to the public since 2008 because of other hazards, including ground cracking, instability in the crater wall and rockfalls.
Continue reading...Made by extending the thumb and little finger, while curling down the three middle fingers the sign is also known as ‘hang loose’
The shaka is poised to become Hawaii’s official hand gesture.
Last week, Hawaiian lawmakers passed a bill that would officially enshrine the gesture in the state’s culture. The shaka, also popular in surf culture and commonly known as “hang loose” is a friendly hand signal made by extending the thumb and little finger while curling the three middle fingers.
Continue reading...Western fire chiefs association details challenges faced by first responders during blazes that killed 101 people
As wildfires ripped across Maui last August, the head of the emergency management agency dragged his heels on returning to the island amid the unfolding crisis, while a broad communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without emergency alerts, according to a report released Wednesday.
Communications problems were also encountered by Hawaiian Electric, with officials unable to confirm that power lines had been de-energized until well after flames had caused widespread damage, the report from the Hawaii attorney general said.
Continue reading...Full state-by-state results as well as votes of Democrats abroad and in the Northern Mariana territory
Georgia, Mississippi and Washington chose their presidential candidates on Tuesday in contests that come as both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are already their parties’ presumptive nominees.
Hawaii also held its Republican caucuses on Tuesday and Democrats abroad and in the Northern Mariana territory voted as well.
Continue reading...People who lost loved ones or were injured may be eligible for payout from fund announced Tuesday – but there’s a catch
Hawaii governor Josh Green unveiled on Tuesday a multimillion-dollar fund to compensate families of people who were killed on Maui during the deadliest wildfire in the nation in more than a century.
The announcement marks the first phase of the $175m One Ohana Fund that was proposed on 8 November, two months after at least 101 were killed in Lahaina, a coastal town on Maui. If found eligible, people who lost a loved one will receive $1.5m, and disbursements for those who survived but were gravely injured will vary, according to Green’s press release. The fund will begin accepting applications on 1 March.
Continue reading...‘Strong shaking’ could be felt all the way in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, about 200 miles to the north
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, on the Big Island of Hawaii on Friday morning, the US Geological Survey said.
No tsunami was expected, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The earthquake, which the USGS initially reported as magnitude 6.3 before downgrading it, was centered on Mauna Loa’s southern flank, 1.3 miles (2km) south-west of Pahala. Shaking could be felt as far as Honolulu, about 200 miles to the north on the island of Oahu.
Continue reading...Preliminary results of largest study of its kind show 55% of survivors are living with depression, while 74% have respiratory issues
Rates of depression, respiratory problems and kidney abnormalities are soaring among survivors of the Maui wildfire, according to the preliminary findings from a groundbreaking study.
The University of Hawaii (UH) has partnered with community health groups to track, understand and address the impacts on health and social conditions caused by the deadliest American wildfire in more than a century, which killed 100 people and destroyed more than 2,200 buildings as it razed the historic town of Lahaina.
55% are experiencing symptoms of depression – significantly higher than the rate reported by Maui residents (33%) in a 2023 survey. Depression rates were higher among older residents, with 75% of 50-something fire survivors reporting low mood, insomnia, and poor concentration, among other symptoms. About 1.3% of participants reported recent suicidal thoughts.
74% are experiencing respiratory issues, with 49% exhibiting signs of lung obstruction and 33% experiencing compromised lung function linked to low oxygen levels.
Initial blood biomarker tests indicated that 8% to 18% of participants may have compromised kidney function.
Three out of four participants have an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, including 21% with high blood pressure at a level that warrants medical attention.
Continue reading...Identifying those who died has been arduous, with forensic experts and cadaver dogs sifting through ash
Hawaii officials said Friday that they had identified the last of the 100 known victims of the wildfire that destroyed Lahaina in August.
The victim was Lydia Coloma, 70, Maui police said.
Continue reading...Critics call cattle-raising project on Hawaii ranch ‘a billionaire’s strange sideshow’ and bad for the environment
The social media tycoon Mark Zuckerberg’s latest business venture raising “world-class” beef cattle on his sprawling luxury Hawaiian hideaway has been derided as out of touch and environmentally irresponsible.
The Meta billionaire posted a picture of himself on Wednesday eating a steak – medium rare, no sides – from his Ko’olau ranch, a 1,400-acre compound on Kauai, Hawaii’s oldest island.
Continue reading...Man, identified in local media as Jason Carter, died in Maui after rescue attempt, police say
A shark attack has killed a man at a spot popular with swimmers and surfers in Hawaii despite a rescue attempt, local police said.
In a statement Maui police said a 39-year-old man had died after being brought back to shore by rescuers at a beach area off the Hana Highway in Paia on the island on Maui.
Continue reading...Deal for $1.9bn, which includes $900m in Hawaiian Airlines debt, would keep both airlines’ brands
Alaska Airlines said Sunday it agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9bn deal, including debt, putting it on track for a potential clash with a Biden administration that has shown wariness about higher fares in the industry.
The combined company would keep both airlines’ brands, rooted in the nation’s 49th and 50th states. Alaska will pay $18 in cash for each share of Hawaiian, whose stock closed Friday at $4.86 after losing just over half its value in the year so far.
Continue reading...Laurie Allen is now among the at least 98 people who died when a blaze destroyed the historic Hawaii town in August
A woman who escaped a wildfire that destroyed Hawaii community by running through a burning field has died after spending more than seven weeks in a hospital burn unit.
Laurie Allen died Friday at Straub Medical Center in Honolulu, according to a GoFundMe page set up for her and her husband, Perry Allen.
Continue reading...Police chief confirmed number of missing had also dropped from 41 to 31 and that 74 of the deceased had been identified
The number of confirmed fatalities from the Maui wildfires is at least 97 people, a lower death toll than what officials had previously announced, Hawaii governor Josh Green said in an interview on CNN on Friday.
State leaders said last month that at least 115 people had died in the 8 August blaze but on Friday said new testing showed they were counting multiple DNA samples from some of the victims. John Pelltier, the Maui police chief, said in a press conference that the number of missing people had also dropped from 41 to 31. And so far, 74 of the deceased have been positively identified.
Continue reading...Josh Green, the state governor, approved $25m for business recovery and said Maui will reopen for tourism on 8 October
One month after the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century leveled the historic town of Lahaina, the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, said Friday that the number of missing has dropped to 66, the confirmed death toll remains at 115 and authorities will soon escort residents on visits to their property.
Tens of millions of dollars in aid will make its way to families and businesses as they recover, Green said, and beginning 8 October, travel restrictions will end and West Maui will reopen to visitors.
Continue reading...Winfrey says direct cash assistance aims to support those affected as they determine what ‘rebuilding looks like for them’
Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have launched a relief fund for the Maui wildfires with an initial $10m donation.
The People’s Fund of Maui, a fund within the Entertainment Industry Foundation, will distribute direct cash assistance to those affected by the wildfires in Maui, which killed at least 115 people earlier this month and devastated the towns of Kula and Lahaina. The fund, supported by public donations and the initial grant by Winfrey and Johnson, plans to provide $1,200 a month to anyone over the age of 18 who lost their primary residence in the fires, including renters and excluding property owners who do not reside in the residence.
Continue reading...In response to Maui county’s lawsuit, utility appears to blame emergency crews for most of the destruction
Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the US in more than a century.
Hawaiian Electric Company released a statement on Sunday night in response to Maui county’s lawsuit blaming the utility for failing to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions. Hawaiian Electric called that complaint “factually and legally irresponsible” and said its power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours when the second blaze started.
Continue reading...Land privatization and water depletion set the stage for the Lahaina fire 150 years ago. Now, land companies may benefit even more
In the late 18th century, when the Hawaiian Kingdom became a sovereign state, Lahaina carried such an abundance of water that early explorers reportedly anointed it “Venice of the Pacific”. A glut of natural wetlands nourished breadfruit trees, extensive taro terraces and fishponds that sustained wildlife and generations of Native Hawaiian families.
But more than a century and a half of plantation agriculture, driven by American and European colonists, have depleted Lahaina’s streams and turned biodiverse food forests into tinderboxes. Today, Hawaii spends $3bn a year importing up to 90% of its food. This altered ecology, experts say, gave rise to the 8 August blaze that decimated the historic west Maui town and killed more than 111 people.
Continue reading...Hawaiian Electric Co wires were seen uncovered as company’s own documents call its wooden poles a ‘serious public hazard’
In the first moments of the Maui fires, when high winds brought down power poles, slapping electrified wires to the dry grass below, there was a reason the flames erupted all at once in long, neat rows – those wires were bare, uninsulated metal that could spark on contact.
Videos and images analyzed by the Associated Press confirmed those wires were among miles of line that Hawaiian Electric Co left naked to the weather and often-thick foliage, despite a recent push by utilities in other wildfire- and hurricane-prone areas to cover up their lines or bury them.
Continue reading...Death toll stands at 115 from devastating fires as authorities say release of names ‘will help with the investigation’
The names of 388 people unaccounted for in the wake of the devastating wildfire in Hawaii have been released by officials on the island of Maui.
The list of known people thought to be missing following the fire has been compiled by the FBI, which said on Tuesday there were about 1,000 to 1,100 people on a more tentative list of those unaccounted for.
Continue reading...