Hawaii

The wildfires incinerated the town of Lahaina, destroying 2,200 homes and businesses and leaving hundreds unaccounted for. At least 114 people are confirmed dead.

The disaster has shed light on Hawaii's housing crisis which has prompted many to leave the state for the US mainland.

According to Hawaii's Senate Housing Committee, an average of 14,000 Hawaiians leave the state every year. The state also has one of the highest homeless rates in the country: in 2022, close to 6000 people experienced homelessness.

FestPAC is held every four years, but due to Covid-19 the 13th FestPAC scheduled for 2020 was postponed.

The previous event was hosted by Guam in 2016.

RNZ Pacific reports Pacific Community, the organisers of the event, said the festival has been an important venue for the perpetuation of Pacific arts and cultures for more than four decades.

"It has developed into a unique forum where cultural sharing and learning has enhanced the appreciation of Pacific arts and culture and knowledge of the region," it said.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports the lava river has slowed down but continues to be fed from the erupting volcano.

In its latest update, the USGS reports the lava river is moving at an average of 6metres per hour.

The USGS said the most significant fissure is feeding a lava flow advancing slowly northward toward the Daniel K. Inouye Highway.

The lava flow has reached relatively flat ground causing it to spread out in three directions and slow down significantly over the past several days.

179 travellers arrived on the January 6 Hawaiian Airlines flight.

Health officials suspect that some of the travellers may have contracted the omicron variant.

Deputy Director of Health Vesi Fautanu said all were removed from the quarantine sites and taken to the alternate care facility in Tafuna., where they are to be quarantined for an extra 14 days.

He said all are fully vaccinated and are doing well.

Local media reports the downpour has caused flooding that has also damaged homes and bridges.

This has prompted calls for the authorities to open evacuation shelters after residents were ordered to leave the area.

A state emergency management official says the rains have led to the cresting of the Kaupakalua Dam on the island's northern region of Haiku.

Governor David Ige says evacuation shelters have opened at a community centre and a high school.

The four are now under the care of state health officials along with one person who may have been exposed to them.

All have been removed from the hotel in Honolulu.

The information was revealed at a press conference with Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga and members of the Covid 19 Task Force, led by Lieutenant Governor Talauega Eleasalo Ale.

Health Director Motusa Tuileama Nua said those who tested positive were members of a family who had travelled from the mainland.

Last month's US federal report, the Fourth National Climate Assessment, concluded climate change poses a threat to all the US, but particularly Hawaii and the American Pacific territories.

One of the writers of the Hawaii section of the assessment, the director of the Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Gordon Tribble, said Hawaii was the most ecologically diverse US state.

He said the effects of climate warming were already apparent with forest birds facing a growing threat from malaria.

Scientists at the University of Hawaii have confirmed the 11 acres which make up East Island are now underwater.

Civil Beat reports the island was a critical habitat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles.

Randy Kosaki, an official with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the island's disappearance shows climate change is real and happening now.

He said it was unclear whether the island would stay submerged.

Hawaii was spared a direct hit from a major hurricane as Lane diminished to a tropical storm as it approached and then drifted west, further from land.

But rain was still pounding the island chain, touching off flooding on Oahu and Kaua'i.

Now residents are keeping a watchful eye on Tropical Storm Miriam, which is spinning about 3,000 kilometres to the east and moving west towards Hawaii.

It is expected to develop into hurricane.

Little more than 24 hours ago, Hurricane Lane was barreling towards the state as a category three storm with winds in excess of 200km/h. Now, the storm's maximum sustained winds are about 110km/h.

The National Weather Service announced the downgrade on Saturday afternoon, and hurricane warnings for much of the archipelago were downgraded to tropical storm warnings.

However, authorities are still warning of the storm's destructive potential. Residents are being told to gird themselves for a lengthy storm that could linger well into next week.