A Maui resident who spent nearly three hours wading in the ocean to escape the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century has slammed the Biden administration’s response to the disaster, asserting: “We are not being treated like we are US citizens. “
Mike Cicchino and his wife Andreza say they are homeless and unemployed after the wildfires that swept through Lahaina earlier this month destroyed their home and business.
“We felt like we had just come out of the fight for our lives. Now, we are back in another fight for our lives to find a home, to find a place to rest our heads at night,” Cicchino told News Nation.
“We haven’t got any help from the federal (government) so far.”
After the wildfires – which killed at least 115 people, with hundreds still missing – the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized a one-time grant of $700 per household as part of its initial disaster relief.
Maui residents Mike and Andreza Cicchino spent nearly three hours wading in the ocean to escape the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.Newsnation
Mike Cicchino with his wife Andreza Cicchino, his mother Susan Ramos and their dog Raine after reuniting at a shelter following the wildfires in Maui.AP
Cicchino hugs his wife and mother after they all survived the wildfires that hit Lahaina earlier this month. AP
Cicchino, however, said he has yet to see the cash.
“We never received $700, which I mean wouldn’t go very far here in Hawaii,” he said. “We mostly get help from private and non-profit organizations.”
“I can’t speak for everybody, but we feel like we’re not getting any help here at least from the federal government,” Cicchino continued. “They help, from what I understand, go down to the ground to find bodies, to clear the rubble, that type of thing. But as far as the displaced people are concerned, financially they are not helping.”
Cicchino said the fire not only left a financial toll on Maui residents – but also an emotional one.
“Burning, not knowing where the land was, at points, the current was pulling us out where we couldn’t touch land,” Cicchino said, recalling how he and his wife ran into the ocean when the fire started to take hold. their neighborhood.
At least 115 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the Maui wildfires. James Keivom
The deadliest US wildfire in more than a century also destroyed more than 2,000 structures. NYPJ for the New York Post
“Sometimes, I remember just telling him to make sure he saved himself. ‘Do not worry. If I start drowning here, you save yourself,’” he said of his wife.
“It was the scariest experience of our lives.”
The Biden administration has faced backlash from Hawaiians in recent weeks over what they see as an unusually slow response to offers of help.
President Biden, 80, was also ripped by some residents — and Republican lawmakers — for waiting 13 days to visit the island.
The White House, however, pushed back, insisting the president had acted quickly and remained in close contact with the governor and other emergency officials as the crisis unfolded.
FEMA said last week it had distributed more than $8.5 million in aid to about 8,000 affected families, including $3.6 million in rental assistance.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
