An official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said there is a high probability that a large number of Filipinos in Maui were affected by the devastating wildfires as the number of casualties remains undetermined.
DFA Assistant Secretary Paul Cortes said the number of Filipinos born or living in the whole of Hawaii stood at 388,000, based on the 2020 census.
“So, the likelihood is very high that there are Filipinos who were affected by the wildfires in Lahaina,” Cortez said in a press briefing.
On the other hand, he said the chances that visiting Filipinos and Philippine passport holders were also affected was “very minimal.”
He also said 50 Filipino teachers who are just on an exchange visit in Hawaii are also safe.
“They’re now being housed (in) a shelter given by the Hawaii state and the US government authorities,” he said. The Philippine government is prepared to offer assistance should they request repatriation, he added.
The death toll from the devastating fire reached 99 on Tuesday, reports said. Thousands of structures and properties were destroyed in the deadliest wildfire to hit Maui in a century.
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said none of the fatalities so far has been confirmed to be Filipinos yet, but there might be Filipino-Americans among them.
“We cannot confirm if anyone is a Filipino citizen. Unfortunately, we have to expect the worst because there will be some Filipino-Americans among the casualties because 17 percent of the population of Maui are Filipino-Americans,” he said.
The Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce said hundreds of Filipinos were among the more than 1,000 missing in the wildfires which started last week.
On Monday, the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu said it was receiving a rising number of calls and emails inquiring about the status of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans missing due to the wildfires.
