The Portuguese community, with dual nationality, is estimated at around 200 people,” says the ministry. But he guarantees that so far “there are no requests for support” from any citizen.
The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) reported early this Saturday night that so far “it has not registered” any request for support from citizens with dual nationality or Portuguese ancestry in Hawaii.
“There are about 30 national citizens, registered with the San Francisco Consulate General, residing in Hawaii. The Portuguese community, with dual nationality, is estimated at around 200″ people, says the ministry in a note sent to Lusa.
But it guarantees that so far “there are no requests for support” from any citizen with Portuguese nationality.
The MNE also clarifies that the community of Portuguese descent, “estimated at around 100,000 people”, is made up of descendants of the migratory wave of the late 19th century who do not have Portuguese nationality.
However, he admits that in the list of missing persons in the Hawaii fires, already published, “there are Portuguese names of families of Portuguese descent who are not national citizens.”
The Ministry headed by João Gomes Cravinho stresses, however, that through the General Consulate of Portugal in San Francisco “continues to monitor the situation in Hawaii.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already confirmed today that there were descendants of Portuguese missing after the forest fires in Hawaii, which caused the death of at least 80 people.
“Until now, the government [local] It has not yet published the lists of fatalities, however, members of families of Portuguese descent are known to be missing,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in response to Lusa.
At least 80 people died in the fires that hit the US island of Maui, in the Hawaiian archipelago, according to the latest balance released today by local authorities.
The Portuguese government also guaranteed at the time that it was monitoring the situation through the Portuguese Consulate General in San Francisco, while also keeping in touch with the leaders of the Portuguese community in Hawaii.
According to Maui County officials, some 1,418 people were transferred to shelters.
The fires are the deadliest and most destructive disasters to hit Hawaii since the 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people.
These fires are even the deadliest in the US since the 2018 Camp Fire in the State of California, which caused 85 deaths and reduced the city of Paradise to ashes.
The fire dangers of the city of Lahaina were known. Maui County’s mitigation plan, updated in 2020, identified Lahaina and other communities in West Maui with frequent fires and a large number of buildings at risk of fire damage.
Source: Observadora
