Filipinos were among victims in the aftermath of the deadly wildfires in Maui, Hawaii that has so far claimed the lives of 93 people.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ New Day on Monday, John Bernard Flores said two brush fires struck on Aug. 8. One was contained in the morning, but strong winds from a hurricane fanned the flames.
“Nung meron pong bahay na mas malapit dun sa apoy… tinawag ko na po yung family ko. Sabi ko ‘tara na tara na bilisan natin’ tapos yun sabay sabay na po kaming umalis,” he said.
Flores said he was separated from his family because of heavy traffic on Lahainaluna road, and he only reconnected with them the next day.
He said he and his family are now in a safe place.
Before flying back to Hawaii from Las Vegas, Joana Marie Acosta, Flores’ girlfriend, said she relied on social media to get updates as communication was down in the disaster area.
Acosta said her family is still in Lahaina seeking shelter in hotels.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ Balitaan, Filipino-American Bella Rose Tumapat said her family visits relatives in Maui every year.
Tumapat said she, her brother, and parents arrived from California days before the wildfires.
“On Tuesday, we woke up and we didn’t have power because of the hurricane winds, so couldn’t get in contact with anyone. And then that afternoon and evening, we could see the fire from our balcony, and we were just praying it wasn’t Lahaina where our family lives,” she shared.
Tumapat said they tried going to Lahaina the following day to check on relatives, but they couldn’t get through.
“So we went to higher ground in Kapalua to see if we can contact anyone and that’s where we heard that all of Lahaina burned down,” she said.
She said she got in contact with a cousin, who told her that all houses were destroyed. They also didn’t know if all family members survived.
Upon reconnecting with her relatives, Tumapat said she learned some of them jumped into the water while one of her aunts stayed in her car while her surroundings burned.
Tumapat said all family members are safe, but added some people they know remain missing.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Sunday the government is ready to help Filipinos in the Maui wildfires. It added it did not expect requests for repatriation since the victims are are permanent residents of Hawaii.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
