Biden to visit fire-hit Hawaii next week: W House
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden will visit Hawaii next week after the deadliest US wildfire in over a century killed more than 100 people there, the White House said on Wednesday. Biden and the first lady on Monday will "meet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state, and local officials" on Maui , according to a White House press release. "The President continues to marshal a whole-of-government response to the deadly Maui fires, and he has committed to delivering everything that the people of Hawaii need from the federal government as they recover from this disaster," the statement continued. State governor Josh Green has repeatedly warned that the final toll from last week's inferno, which levelled the historic town of Lahaina, would grow significantly, urging Hawaiians to gird for a number that could be two or three times its present level of 106. Biden quickly declared a natural disaster in Hawaii, allowing the deployment of emergency assistance from the federal government, and has talked several times with Green. But he was criticised by the Republican opposition for what they characterised as a timid response to the fires. The president mentioned the disaster at the start of a speech last Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah, but did not speak publicly when the death toll soared over the weekend. On Tuesday, Biden, on a visit to a factory in Wisconsin, again devoted the beginning of his speech to the Pacific archipelago, and assured the inhabitants that they would be granted assistance. The White House said Biden had been in close contact with Hawaiian leaders and federal emergency officials, who had advised that "search and recovery efforts are expected to be at a stage early next week to allow for a presidential visit". (AFP)