Maui faces struggle between housing for displaced residents and tourism
As the Hawaiian island of Maui receives help from around the world in recovering from its deadly wildfires, some residents say the greatest need is something that can’t be shipped in from the mainland: a place to stay.
“We're short on housing here,” Mike Cicchino told CNN’s Jessica Dean on Sunday. His family is now staying in Kihei after the fire encroaching on his Lahaina home forced him to take refuge along the seawall for 12 hours. “We just went through a nightmare, and we're about to go through another nightmare trying to, basically, not stay homeless.”
Hawaii officials have stressed in news briefings that the island is not closed to tourists, particularly the eastern side that was unaffected by wildfires. While one runway of Kahului Airport has been closed to general aviation in order to allow more cargo shipments in, the Department of Transportation said commercial flights onto Maui are unaffected. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the island to effectively shut down its largest economic engine for months, and officials are anxious not to discourage visitors again.
Cicchino said that is effectively forcing evacuated residents of West Maui to compete with tourists for housing.
“I hate to say it, but I think they should put a little hold on people coming to visit because we don't have any places for locals to stay,” he said. “They're going to need those hotel rooms. They're going to need our Airbnbs, Vrbos."
While there are mass shelters available for evacuees, Cicchino says he’s not sure how long that can be a viable solution.
No comments: