Lahaina, Hawaii | US President Joe Biden toured the scorched remains of Lahaina, a coastal town on the Hawaiian island of Maui, on Monday (Tuesday) in his first visit since devastating fires killed more than 100 people and left behind scenes of twisted metal and hollowed-out homes.

Mr Biden, who broke away from his summer vacation on Lake Tahoe in Nevada, met with survivors of the fires and with emergency workers and state and local officials. The president hugged Governor Josh Green, a Democrat, and walked arm in arm with him to Marine One for a 20-minute aerial tour of the wreckage. Sporting a green and yellow lei, he told community members, “the entire country is here for you”.