Extra logistical challenges hinder government's initial response when disasters strike islands
- Written by Ivis García, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University

Wildfires destroyed the Hawaiian tourist town of Lahaina on Aug. 8 and 9, 2023, leaving many of its roughly 13,000 residentshomeless. Fires also burned in other areas on Maui, Hawaii’s second-largest island, and its Big Island. President Joe Biden issued a disaster...