Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, has described the blaze as a fire hurricane, with high winds and temperatures reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius. The authorities have warned that efforts to find and identify the dead on the island of Maui are still in their early stages. Emergency plans will initially see hundreds of hotel rooms provided for those who have lost their homes.

Also in the programme: after two years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, we ask whether the West should be doing more to engage with them diplomatically; and we hear why George Harrison's mother was disgusted by The Beatles' screaming fans.

(Image: Volunteers load water onto a boat to be transported to West Maui Credit: Getty)