Total of 850 people are STILL missing in apocalyptic Maui wildfires, officials confirm

As many as 850 people are still missing and 114 are dead following apocalyptic wildfires in Maui as President Joe Biden is due to visit Hawaii on Monday.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen gave the update on a video posted to Facebook, which he used to send a message of hope for those still missing while reminding the public that the death toll expected to rise.

“It is my sad duty to report that 114 persons have been declared ill,” the mayor said in a video posted to Facebook. “There are currently 850 names on the missing persons list.”

“We are both saddened and relieved by these numbers,” Bissen said.

“There is positive news in this issue because when this process began, the missing persons list contained more than 2,000 names.”

Bissen pointed out that the initial number of people initially feared was more than 2,000, but that this dwindled once mobile communications were restored.

The FBI, which assists with searches, combined several missing lists to arrive at the total number of missing, the mayor added.

The mayor’s update comes as Biden is about to visit the devastated island following criticism that it has taken him too long to do so.

Biden’s trip follows a period of public silence in which he was criticized for his “no comment” while spending time at his Delaware beach house.

Biden will visit those who lost their homes and loved ones during the disaster and will be briefed by government officials. The White House said it continued to receive briefings over the weekend, after Biden made a series of public statements about the disaster following his early stumbles.

He is accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden.

The wildfire that broke out in the city of Lahaina on August 8 is now the deadliest in more than a century and the fifth deadliest on record for the US.