A complete of 850 individuals are nonetheless lacking following lethal wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, the county's mayor has stated.

In an in a single day replace, Mayor Richard Bissen stated he was "both saddened and relieved about these numbers".

He stated it had been feared greater than 2,000 individuals have been lacking however that 1,285 individuals have been discovered secure.

At least 114 individuals have been confirmed useless after the wildfires, the deadliest in trendy US historical past, Mr Bissen stated.

US President Joe Biden will pause his vacation in Lake Tahoe to fly to Hawaii, following criticism by some Republicans and others for his preliminary response.

He went days with out talking concerning the tragedy when it first came about whereas vacationing at his Delaware seaside home.

The White House countered that Mr Biden has been main a "whole of government" effort to assist Hawaii get well.

Mr Biden himself stated he didn't wish to journey to Maui till he was assured that he wouldn't intrude with emergency response efforts.

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It comes because the head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency abruptly resigned - a day after saying he had no regrets about not utilizing sirens to warn residents of the wildfires.

Some Maui residents say lives might have been saved had emergency sirens sounded, however the company opted towards utilizing them, saying they might have been ineffective and complicated.