Residents on the Hawaiian island of Maui are struggling to move on from the painful memories on the first anniversary of a devastating wildfire that claimed more than 100 lives. The fire, which broke out on Aug. 8 of last year, destroyed more than 2,200 buildings and caused about 5.5 billion dollars in damages, according to data released by the U.S. government. Hawaii Governor Josh Green on Friday announced a settlement totaling over 4 billion U.S. dollars to resolve hundreds of lawsuits filed after last year's deadly wildfire. However, it's still difficult for Cody Ball, a resident in the worst-hit Lahaina region, to accept that the wildfire engulfed and destroyed his hometown where he had lived for over 20 years. A total of 102 people perished in the fires, including some of his friends. Many were caught off guard, as the fire alert system failed and communications collapsed across the island. "I'm so frustrated by all this. Is that. They still could have sent the warning sign because there are probably people sleeping or not really thinking there was an emergency and have some sort of siren go off. But again, you know, the infrastructure combined with just absolute negligence is just ridiculous," he said. A memorial site was designated to honor the lost lives, with their pictures lined up on the side of a road. Soakai Taufa, who built it last year, is now getting ready to unveil what he called the Teardrop of Lahaina on the one-year anniversary. "The community is still in mourning. And can you see? There's a heart inside that is run through that whole teardrop. And those represent the missing tears," he said. Hundreds of displaced families were housed in hotel rooms for almost a year. Many had to move repeatedly, and some are now in temporary apartments paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. One year after fast-moving wildfires destroyed the town of Lahaina, Maui, there are visible signs of progress to rebuild. However, many still remain skeptical facing the settlement file, including Matty Schweitzer, a local filmmaker who has been documenting the lives of several victims. "I'm not a big fan of settlements like that. Yeah. Because, accountability is more important than money. If people are taking settlements, then it's, you know, money is the most important thing. Give me money, and I'll shut up and sign the papers, and I won't, and I'll make sure nobody needs to be accountable," he said.
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Maui residents strive to move on from painful wildfire memories
2024-08-08 20:49 Last Updated At:21:17Next Article
Shenzhou-19 crew strengthens Tiangong station's debris protection in second spacewalk
2025-01-21 13:45 Last Updated At:14:07Members of the Shenzhou-19 crew aboard China's Tiangong Space Station successfully completed their second series of extravehicular activities (EVAs) at 01:12 (Beijing Time) on Tuesday, after performing multiple tasks including the installation of space debris protection devices and an extravehicular inspection.
Astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze worked for over eight hours to complete the tasks, with Cai and Song undertaking spacewalk duties. They were assisted by the space station's robotic arm and a team on Earth.
Song stepped out of Tiangong's Wentian lab module at 16:55 on Monday. Cai exited the module about two hours later to join Song on device installation tasks. Meanwhile, Wang stayed in the station's core module to provide support.
"The primary task is to install debris protection devices outside the module to safeguard its external cables from debris impact. Given the increasingly severe risk of space debris collisions in the orbital environment, we have carefully selected appropriate materials and made specialized designs. Additionally, the protection devices are designed to be easily and securely installed on the exterior of the space station, ensuring effective protection," said Li Zhihai, an aerospace engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
During their previous extravehicular mission in December, the Shenzhou-19 crew primarily installed protective devices for the external pipelines and cables of the Tianhe core module. Their second spacewalk put a focus on strengthening the Wentian lab module.
"Since the operational area for this mission differs from the previous one, the entire path planning process for the robotic arm must take into account the specific conditions around the Wentian module. It is essential to avoid any interference or collisions with the module itself or its solar panels. This requires maintaining a safe distance, which necessitates optimization in the design phase on the ground, along with extensive testing and validation," Li said.
The crew has completed all tasks smoothly and the two astronauts conducting the EVAs have returned to the Wentian lab module safely.
"The astronauts showed exceptional efficiency and speed throughout the entire process, and all installations were done perfectly," Li said.
The Shenzhou-19 crew have completed nearly half of their space journey and are scheduled to carry out a significant number of in-orbit scientific experiments and technological tests, according to the China Manned Space Agency.