Maui needs over $5 billion to rebuild, officials say

The Federal Emergency Management Agency projects that rebuilding from the Maui wildfires will take years and cost about $5.5 billion. At least 99 people died in the wildfires, making the Maui fires the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaiian history and the deadliest wildfire on U.S. soil in more than a century. Governor Josh Green said over the weekend that many more people remained missing, and Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said rescuers had covered only a small percentage of the search area.

What’s next in the recovery process? Officials predict more than 2,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed by the fires. About 86 percent of the buildings damaged in the fire were residential, resulting in about 4,500 residents in need of emergency shelter or temporary housing. Over 80 percent of Maui’s revenue is from tourism, according to the Maui Economic Development Board. The town of Lahaina, once a tourist magnet, is now in ruins.

Dig deeper: Read Sharon Dierberger and Grace Snell’s report in WORLD Magazine on insurance for natural disasters in California.