Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2023 10:01:25 GMT -6
Many of you may have seen news about the wildfires over Maui, with some spreading to Kauai and even the Big Island. This is horrible in every way. Plenty of multi-million dollar houses destroyed, but those homeowners have resources. Lots of regular people have already been burned out of homes they've been in for generations. Businesses are piles of ash. Plenty of tourists stranded in their hotels with limited food and water and failing cell phone service. Getting firefighters and equipment out there is really going to be hard: can't just load up your truck and drive across the mainland to help. Everything's got to fly.
Although it's been many years since I've been out, the islands used to be a favorite destination for us. We've spent time on every island with the exception of Lanai. One of the things I've always appreciated is the way the arts are integrated into everyday life. Regular folks play music--even if it's only in family groups. Same goes for hula. It's really part of life. And once you've been around real hula--not the stuff they do at the resorts--you'll appreciate the role it's always played in island life. We once attended a hula festival in the caldera of Kīlauea (the area was obliterated in an eruption a few years ago). That's something that's hard to forget.
I fear it's going to take years for Hawaii to recover from this. I have friends who may have already lost homes. Don't know what shape the pineapple and banana farms are in, but I'm sure they've been hit. In many ways it is a sort of paradise out there. But not now.
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Post by svart on Aug 10, 2023 8:05:14 GMT -6
Pure tragedy.
The bigger tragedy will be when the media and politicians start using this to push politics. These are people, not pawns.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2023 8:10:25 GMT -6
Pure tragedy. The bigger tragedy will be when the media and politicians start using this to push politics. These are people, not pawns. I'm not sure they're going to do that. We'll see. |
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Post by Ward on Aug 10, 2023 8:53:55 GMT -6
My heart goes out to them all, especially those who already struggle to survive and can't even make the ends meet.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Aug 10, 2023 10:31:19 GMT -6
The aftermath of this one is going to be tricky, forget that it’s an island and the middle of the pacific, it has some of the largest economic in equity in the world and this is most apparent in housing. My wife went to college for a year in Hawaii and describes homes with dirt floors and 3-4 generations living in them.
Now as a burn victim the fact that there isn’t really a way to quickly transport patients to a world class burn unit brings tears to my eyes.
Logistically this one is going to make Katrina look like a success.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2023 11:47:41 GMT -6
The aftermath of this one is going to be tricky, forget that it’s an island and the middle of the pacific, it has some of the largest economic in equity in the world and this is most apparent in housing. My wife went to college for a year in Hawaii and describes homes with dirt floors and 3-4 generations living in them. Now as a burn victim the fact that there isn’t really a way to quickly transport patients to a world class burn unit brings tears to my eyes. Logistically this one is going to make Katrina look like a success. All true. Just driving around any of the neighborhoods will show that most people aren't doing well financially. The tourist industry has a tight grip on the reins and much of the state is dependent on it. Now, with the tourists gone it's going to be really hard to get by in Maui County. It will take at least a generation to get on even the poor footing it was on before. |
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Post by chessparov on Aug 11, 2023 12:56:58 GMT -6
Really? Around 20 years guesstimate.
Wow. I hope not.
Chris
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2023 13:16:37 GMT -6
Really? Around 20 years guesstimate. Wow. I hope not. Chris I hope not as well. But given the cash reserves of the people who've lost homes and businesses, it's going to be a long stretch. Building materials are really expensive there: virtually everything except for lava rock has to be shipped in at significant cost. The diaspora will certainly widen, with many folks headed to the mainland for work and family. Here in the SLC area, there is already a Hawaiian community (also Tongan and other Pacific nations). They're all welcome here, but it going to be hugely painful for them to leave the place where their families have lived for a thousand years. |
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Aug 12, 2023 15:55:55 GMT -6
Really? Around 20 years guesstimate. Wow. I hope not. Chris I hope not as well. But given the cash reserves of the people who've lost homes and businesses, it's going to be a long stretch. Building materials are really expensive there: virtually everything except for lava rock has to be shipped in at significant cost. The diaspora will certainly widen, with many folks headed to the mainland for work and family. Here in the SLC area, there is already a Hawaiian community (also Tongan and other Pacific nations). They're all welcome here, but it going to be hugely painful for them to leave the place where their families have lived for a thousand years. Micheal, we we’re trying to figure out what FEMA was going to do other than put people up hotels and we figured out if they were smart they would go the route of converting Storage containers on the island. You could bring them in Full and build a local economy converting them. |
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