About half of Maui residents impacted by the August wildfires say their health is worse now compared to a year ago and more than half say they lost their jobs because of the fires. These are among the preliminary findings of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Maui Wildfire Exposure Cohort Study (MauiWES).
Over at least the next 10 years, the study aims to document the acute and chronic health impacts and social conditions caused by one of the most deadly and destructive natural disasters in Hawaiʻi history.
The UH research team is co-led by Economics Professor Ruben Juarez, the UH Economic Research Organization-HMSA Distinguished Professor of Health Economics, and Alika Maunakea a professor of epigenomics at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology.
The preliminary results include:
- 49% said their health is worse than last year (prior to the wildfires)
- 58% of participants lost their jobs because of the wildfires
- 65% are in temporary homes
- 24% of participants remain in their pre-wildfire homes
- 11% have moved to new permanent homes
- 24% remain jobless and are searching
- 74% report a drop in their household income
See a previous story at https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/12/22/maui-wildfire-health-study/.
