The death toll from the Maui wildfires is now at 89, officials said on Saturday, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.

The scale of the damage came into sharper focus on Saturday, as search teams with dogs sifted through the ruins of Lahaina, four days after a fast-moving blaze levelled the historic resort town, obliterating buildings and melting cars.

The cost to rebuild Lahaina was estimated at $5.5 billion (£4.3 billion), according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with more than 2,200 structures damaged or destroyed and more than 2,100 acres (850 hectares) burned.

Governor Josh Green warned at a news conference on Saturday afternoon that the death toll would continue to rise as more bodies were discovered.

Hundreds of people are believed to be unaccounted for.

Officials vowed to examine the state’s emergency notification systems after some residents questioned whether more could have been done to warn people before the fire overtook their homes. 

Some were forced to dive into the Pacific Ocean to escape.

Sirens stationed around the island – intended to warn of impending natural disasters – never sounded, and widespread power and cellular outages hampered other forms of alerts…Source – Read More!