A Portuguese descendant has died and several people are still missing and some are left homeless after fires ripped through Hawaii in August, but Portuguese authorities have yet to receive any requests for help, according to the Portuguese Foreign Ministry.
The fires, considered the deadliest in more than a century in the United States, have killed at least 115 people, mostly affecting the island of Maui.
More than three hundred people are still missing from the disaster that devastated this North American archipelago, including some descendants of the Portuguese.
Portuguese diplomacy continues to monitor the situation and is in “regular” contact with some of the affected families, but so far the Foreign Office has not received any requests for help from the Portuguese or their descendants.
“However, no Portuguese victims have been identified, however, since there are no exact figures regarding the descendants of the Portuguese, there are victims and victims; At least one Portuguese descendant is known to have died and several people are still missing,” reports the Portuguese MNE. , to Lusa’s question.
The same source reports two Portuguese families left homeless and several families of Portuguese origin also homeless.
According to the latest U.S. Census, more than 90,000 Hawaiians identified themselves as “Portuguese,” meaning about 10% consider themselves to be of Portuguese descent, a figure expected to be higher.
For this reason, continues the Portuguese MNE, “it is estimated that among the victims and people who lost their homes, the percentage of Portuguese descendants is similar”, and this accounting is difficult to do since several descendants of Portuguese (via party) no longer have a Portuguese surname.
The epic Portuguese emigration to Hawaii began in 1878 and brought 27,000 Portuguese to the Pacific archipelago, who exchanged hunger and poverty for hard work in the sugar cane fields.