U.S. President Joe Biden’s duty as consoler in chief will be put to the test on Monday when he visits Maui, nearly two weeks after wildfires swept through the Hawaiian island and killed more than 110 people.

Biden will pause his vacation in Lake Tahoe to fly from Reno, Nevada, to Maui, where he and first lady Jill Biden will take a helicopter tour of the burned-out areas.

They will then visit the devastated city of Lahaina to see the wildfire damage firsthand and receive a briefing from state and local officials.

After the tour, Biden will make remarks “paying respects to the lives lost and reflecting on the tragic, lasting impacts of these wildfires on survivors and the community,” a White House official said.

Biden, who is seeking reelection in 2024, has been criticized by some Republicans and others for his initial response to the Maui fires. Biden said on Aug. 10 he would expand federal aid to Hawaii and promised help to anyone who needed it.

He went several days without speaking about the tragedy while vacationing at his Delaware beach house.

The wind-whipped firestorm that raged through Lahaina in west Maui on Aug. 8 killed at least 114 people in a death toll that is still mounting. The number of people officially believed missing is now 850, down from over 2,000, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said overnight on Facebook.

The White House countered that Biden has been leading a “whole of government” effort to help Hawaii recover. Biden himself said he did not want to travel to Maui until he was assured he would not interfere with emergency response efforts.

On Monday, he will announce the appointment of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 9 administrator Bob Fenton as the chief federal response coordinator to oversee a long-term federal recovery effort, the White House official said.

Biden also will meet with emergency responders, survivors and community members, the official said.

“I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday. “And throughout our efforts, we are focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures, and traditions.”

Biden has traveled to a variety of disaster zones, including places struck by hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, since becoming president in January 2021. His visit on Monday came as Tropical Storm Hilary dumped rain on Southern California and Southwestern states.

Maui presents a special challenge as the remains of some of the victims are still being recovered from burned-out buildings.

A cargo ship fitted with giant, rigid British-designed sails has set out on its maiden voyage.

Shipping firm Cargill, which has chartered the vessel, hopes the technology will help the industry chart a course towards a greener future.

The WindWings sails are designed to cut fuel consumption and therefore shipping’s carbon footprint.

It is estimated the industry is responsible for about 2.1% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The Pyxis Ocean’s maiden journey, from China to Brazil, will provide the first real-world test of the WindWings – and an opportunity to assess whether a return to the traditional way of propelling ships could be the way forward for moving cargo at sea.

Folded down when the ship is in port, the wings are opened out when it is in open water. They stand 123ft (37.5m) tall and are built of the same material as wind turbines, to make them durable.

Enabling a vessel to be blown along by the wind, rather than rely solely on its engine, could hopefully eventually reduce a cargo ship’s lifetime emissions by 30%.

Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill Ocean Transportation, said the industry was on a “journey to decarbonise”. He admitted there was “no silver bullet” – but said this technology demonstrated how fast things were changing.

“Five, six years ago, if you would ask people in shipping about decarbonisng, they would say ‘well, it’s going to be very difficult, I don’t see this happening any time soon’,” he told the BBC.

“Five years later, I think the narrative has changed completely and everybody is really convinced that they need to do their part – everybody is just struggling a little on how we’re going to do this.

“That’s why we’ve taken the role as one of the larger players to underwrite some of the risk, and try things, and take the industry forward.”

The Pyxis Ocean will take an estimated six weeks to reach its destination – but the technology it is using has its origins in something much faster.

It was developed by UK firm BAR Technologies, which was spun out of Sir Ben Ainslie’s 2017 America’s Cup team, a competition sometimes called the ‘Formula One of the seas’.

Some 850 people are still missing after the devastating wildfires in Maui, County Mayor Richard Bissen has said.

Over 1,200 people who had been on the list of those missing have been found safe, Mr Bissen said on Monday, warning numbers are expected to fluctuate.

One hundred and fourteen people are confirmed to have died.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the island for the first time since the deadly fires swept through earlier this month.

The blazes destroyed most of the historic Maui town of Lahaina and the fires are now considered the worst natural disaster in Hawaii state history.

“Our lives have changed forever and things will not be the same,” Mr Bissen said in a video update posted to social media. “What will be the same is the way we care for each other as we grieve and go through this together.”

To date, 27 of the deceased have been identified and 11 families had been notified, he said.

Details of who the victims are have begun to emerge in recent days – they so far include an avid musician, and loving grandmothers and fathers.

As people across Southern California sheltered from Hurricane Hilary; another natural disaster hit – a magnitude 5.1 earthquake.

Its epicentre was north-west of Los Angeles and #hurriquake was soon trending on social media.

It did not cause major damage, and the hurricane has also since been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said over 100 fire stations were checking buildings for damage.

Ms Bass said in a tweet that there were no initial reports of structural damage caused by the earthquake or any injuries.

Seismologist Dr Lucy Jones said it was “interesting” to have the earthquake near Ojai, and was the “first time we’ve had a five since 1932 in exactly this location, and even within the Ventura basin”.

She warned more aftershocks were likely over the next few days.

The quake hit at the same time as post-tropical cyclone Hilary, which left many residents unsure where they should seek cover.

One of her neighbours ran out of his house in a panic saying he didn’t know where to go and she could hear other people shouting inside their homes as the quake struck.

Another video from inside a supermarket showed items fall from the shelves as the quake struck, as a man ran with his daughter from the shop.