As the war in Sudan nears four months of intense fighting, morgues in the capital Khartoum have reached their capacity, aid workers say, leaving thousands of corpses to rot on the streets as doctors and relief organizations warn of a looming cholera outbreak.

Khartoum’s morgues have reached “breaking point,” international aid group Save The Children said Tuesday.

Bodies in the morgues are also decomposing as prolonged power outages have left them without refrigeration, the group said. There is also no medical staff left, leaving the corpses “exposed and untreated.”

The disaster is the latest hazard after months of clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which broke out in mid-April as both parties tried to take control of the capital.

The violence has killed at least 1,105 people and injured 12,115 as of July 11, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported last month, citing data from the Federal Ministry of Health. It said the actual numbers are likely much higher.

At least 435 children have been killed and at least 2,025 others injured, said UNICEF. On average, a child is killed or injured every hour, the UN body calculates .

“A horrifying combination of rising numbers of corpses, severe water shortages, non-functioning hygiene and sanitation services, and lack of water treatment options are also prompting fears of a cholera outbreak in the city,” Save The Children said in a statement.

The disease often surges in war zones, spreading rapidly through contaminated water. Sudan typically witnesses a rise in cholera cases during its annual rain season, which began in June, the aid group said, but the current absence of functioning public health labs makes it “difficult to assess the state of the crisis.”

Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated. Most of the hospitals in the capital and other states are out of service, Save the Children added.

Sudanese medical workers are sounding the alarm over looming outbreaks.

Abdallah Attiya, a member of the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, warned in an interview with Al Arabiya news channel last week of “disease and epidemiological disasters” amid the overcrowding of morgues.

“The inability to give those who have died a dignified burial is yet another element of the suffering of families in Khartoum,” said Dr. Bashir Kamal Eldin Hamid, Save the Children’s Health and Nutrition Director, in a Tuesday statement.

“We are seeing a health crisis in the making, on top of a crisis of sorrow, fear and pain,” he said.

Escalating fighting

The conflict escalated again this week, with both rival forces claiming to have inflicted heavy damage on the other. No decisive breakthroughs or peace talks are in sight.

The fighting has left Khartoum in ruins. More than 4 million people have fled the violence across Sudan since the fighting broke out, with more than half having fled the capital alone, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Around 20.3 million people across the country – more than 42% of its population – have also been driven to high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC).

The clashes are seen as a power struggle between Sudan’s military ruler, the SAF head, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (widely known as Hemedti), the country’s deputy and head of the RSF.

The two men were once allies who worked together to topple Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and played a pivotal role in the military coup in 2021. But their relationship soured amid negotiations to integrate the RSF into the country’s military as part of plans to restore civilian rule.

The RSF said in a statement Tuesday that it had “achieved a new victory in a number of areas in Omdurman,” claiming it killed more than 170 SAF soldiers and imprisoned 83.

The SAF said it had lost four of its fighters and claimed to have inflicted “heavy losses” on the RSF, killing and wounding hundreds of their fighters. Efforts by the United States and Saudi Arabia to achieve peace have been mostly frozen. Last month, the RSF said that achieving peace with its rival SAF is “impossible” after talks in Jeddah collapsed.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is facing an even longer stint in jail after being sentenced to 19 years in prison on extremism charges, Russian media report, a fresh blow to a fierce critic of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that comes amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent.

Navalny was accused of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activities and a number of other crimes.

He was found guilty on Friday at the high-security penal colony in which he has been detained.

Navalny is already serving sentences totaling 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges that he says were trumped up.

He and his supporters claim that his arrest and imprisonment were politically motivated, intended to silence his criticism of Putin.

The trial ended in June and took place behind closed doors at the IK-6 penal colony at Melekhovo, around 155 miles east of Moscow, where Navalny is being held.

The Kremlin critic said Friday that he is “serving a life sentence,” according to a statement on Telegram, and urged fellow Russians not to be intimidated.

“19 years in a special regime colony. The number doesn’t matter. I understand very well that, like many political prisoners, I am serving a life sentence. Where life is measured by the duration of my life or the life of this regime. The number from verdict is not for me. It is for you,” the post said.

“They want to frighten you, not me, and deprive you of the will to resist. You are being forced to surrender your Russia without a fight to a gang of traitors, thieves and scoundrels who have seized power. Putin should not achieve his goal. Don’t lose the will to resist.”

Friday’s verdict extends Navalny’s time in prison and raises further concerns about the brutal crackdown on Putin’s opponents that has been accelerated since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The former tech director of Navalny’s YouTube channel, Daniel Kholodny, was also sentenced to eight years in a penal colony, according to his lawyer, Svetlana Davydova in the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

A letter from Kholodny was also shared on the Navalny team’s Telegram channel Friday.

“Hi everyone, this is Danya Kholodny. I was sentenced to 8 years. You may ask what for? Turns out, connecting to a YouTube channel at the office is extremism … But that’s not all! 8 years isn’t long enough to be acquitted, so the court ordered that my property and money be confiscated. That’s what the prosecution asked for,” he wrote.

“It is important to understand: they condemned me not for being an extremist, because it is clear to a fool that there was no extremism, but so that you, horrified by my fate, would not think of fighting,” he added.

The European Union was quick to condemn Navalny’s sentence, saying it reiterated its “deep concern about reports of repeated ill-treatment, unjustified and unlawful disciplinary measures, and harassment amounting to physical and psychological torture by prison authorities against Mr Navalny.”

Navalny has been incarcerated in Russia since his return to the country in January 2021, on charges of violating terms of probation related to a years-old fraud case, which he dismisses as politically motivated.

There have been concerns about his wellbeing: Navalny lost weight and suffered stomach pain earlier this year, leading to fears among his lawyers that he had again been poisoned.

He had previously been taken from Russia to Germany in August 2020, after he was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Navalny arrived comatose at a hospital in Berlin, following a medical evacuation flight from the Siberian city of Omsk.

The investigation also found that this unit, which included chemical weapons experts, had followed Navalny on more than 30 trips to and from Moscow since 2017.

Russia denies involvement in Navalny’s poisoning. Putin himself said in December 2020 that if Russian security services had wanted to kill Navalny, they “would have finished” the job.

Although the Russian authorities’ targeting of Navalny pre-dates Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the country has cracked down even more dramatically on internal opposition and free speech since launching the war.

An expanded and intentionally vague law on “foreign agents” came into effect late last year, requiring organizations and individuals engaging in political activity and receiving funding from abroad to adhere to draconian rules and restrictions.

Russia has also restricted access to Facebook, many Western news sites, and independent media in the country. Peaceful protests were quickly shut down and thousands arrested after Moscow’s invasion.

And the government has adopted a law criminalizing the dissemination of what it called “deliberately false” information about the Russian armed forces, with a maximum penalty is 15 years in prison.

Navalny has nonetheless been a vocal critic of the conflict. On the anniversary of the invasion in February, he called it “an unjust war of aggression against Ukraine under ridiculous pretexts.”

Megan Rapinoe said it has been an “honor” to play for the United States after making her fourth and final appearance at a Women’s World Cup.

Rapinoe, who has made more than 200 appearances for the national team, missed her spot kick as the US was knocked out of the World Cup in a dramatic penalty shootout against Sweden on Sunday.

Before the tournament, the 38-year-old announced that this would be her final year as a professional soccer player and she now returns to her National Women’s Soccer League team, OL Reign, for the remainder of the season.

“This game is so beautiful, even in its cruelest moments,” Rapinoe wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “This group was so very special, and I am immensely proud of every single one of us.

“This team is in special hands as I walk away, just like it always was, and always will be. Because that is what this team is all about. We lay it all out on the line every single time. Fighting with everything that we have, for everything we deserve, for every person we possibly can.

“It has been my honor to play for our country, with so many incredible woman [sic], for so many years. Thank you, a million times over.”

The defeat against Sweden condemned the US to its earliest ever exit at a World Cup and signaled an end to the team’s dreams for an unprecedented “three-peat.”

Rapinoe now departs international soccer with 63 goals, 73 assists, two world titles and the 2019 Ballon d’Or Féminin – awarded to the best player in the women’s game.

In addition to her on-field achievements, Rapinoe is well-known for her work on social issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, racial inequality and pay equity. In 2022, she became the first soccer player to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Speaking to Fox Sports after the defeat against Sweden, Rapinoe called it a “sick joke” and “dark comedy” that the US had dominated much of the game before being knocked out in cruel fashion on penalties.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan cited “anxiety” as the reason he took an unexpected break from his role, following the PGA Tour’s proposed partnership with Saudi’s Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – the backers of LIV Golf – and the European-based DP World Tour.

“I was dealing with anxiety, which created physical and mental health issues and challenges for me,” Monahan told reporters, according to ESPN.

“I needed to step away and to deal with that and understand how to develop the skills to deal with that going forward,” the 53-year-old added.

On June 13, the PGA Tour said Monahan had been relieved of his day-to-day duties while he recuperated from a medical situation. He returned to his typical role just over a month later on July 17.

On June 6, the PGA Tour sent shockwaves through the sport after announcing it had come to an agreement to join forces with the PIF’s golf-related commercial businesses and rights.

The controversial proposal initiated an ongoing investigation by the US Senate into the planned venture.

“(The announcement) was ineffective and, as a result, there was a lot of misinformation. I think anytime you have misinformation that can lead to mistrust, and that’s my responsibility. It’s nobody else’s responsibility – that’s me and me alone,” Monahan added.

“As I’ve said, I take full accountability for that. At the same time, I apologize for putting players on their back foot.”

Despite the criticism, the commissioner remains bullish on the planned endeavor.

“My performance has always been and will continue to be measured based on results and the productivity of the organization and results delivered and done in the right way. And so that will be determined when we complete this process,” he said.

“And I am confident that when we complete this process, as I said before, this will be a rewarding result for the PGA Tour players and our fans.”

Monahan met with some PGA Tour players on Tuesday ahead of the TPC Southwind tournament just outside of Memphis, Tennessee. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler attended the meeting and welcomed the commissioner back.

“I realized I hadn’t seen Jay in quite a bit of time. Yeah, it’s definitely good to have him back,” he told reporters.

“He’s always available, and he’s doing the best that he can to make sure that he’s getting as much player input as possible.”

Scheffler acknowledged there was still uncertainty surrounding the proposed PGA Tour-LIV Golf agreement.

“The position where I’m sitting now, it just seems like they’ve got a long way to go in that sense to where there’s still not really much to say. We still don’t really have a great idea as to what is going on right now,” he added.

Northwestern University denounced a few football coaches and staffers who wore shirts appearing to pay tribute to former head coach Pat Fitzgerald at practice on Wednesday.

Fitzgerald was fired from the school in July after allegations of hazing within the Wildcats football program, in which the university faces several lawsuits.

The shirt reads “Cats Against The World” with the number 51 below the slogan. Fitzgerald wore the 51 jersey when he played for the school in the mid-90s. Players on the team wore their normal practice uniforms.

“Neither I nor the University was aware that they owned or would wear these shirts today. The shirts are inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf.

“Let me be crystal clear: hazing has no place at Northwestern, and we are committed to do whatever is necessary to address hazing-related issues, including thoroughly investigating any incidents or allegations of hazing or any other misconduct.”

An independent investigation commissioned by Northwestern prior to Fitzgerald’s firing found evidence of ongoing hazing that included “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” university president Michael Schill said in a July letter.

Though the investigation found no “credible evidence” Fitzgerald was aware of the alleged hazing, the head coach is ultimately responsible for the team’s culture, Schill said. Fitzgerald has denied any knowledge of hazing in the program.

Last week, Northwestern announced former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch would lead an independent review of athletics department culture and accountability mechanisms in wake of hazing lawsuits.

At last month’s Big Ten Media Day, interim head coach David Braun declined to address reporters’ questions about the hazing allegations but said it had been a very difficult time for current and former players and staff members. He added that the coaches would focus in the future on each player having “the ultimate student-athlete experience.”

Northwestern opens its 2023 season at Rutgers University in New Jersey on September 3.

Swedish soccer star Lina Hurtig says that rewatching her winning penalty against the United States, which crossed the goal line by the narrowest of margins, makes her “sick to my stomach.”

Sweden was on the brink of losing Sunday’s shootout at the Women’s World Cup, only for Megan Rapinoe and Sophia Smith to both miss for the US and Hanna Bennison to score, sending the match to sudden death penalties.

After Kelley O’Hara had hit the post, Hurtig stepped up and saw her effort clawed out of the goal by Alyssa Naeher. But following a tense 30-second review, it was ruled that the ball had crossed the line by a matter of millimeters, sparking wild celebrations from Hurtig and her teammates.

“I don’t want to watch it again, it makes me sick to my stomach,” the 27-year-old forward told Radiosporten. “There are so many emotions, it’s so close, so I get a little sick to my stomach when I look at it.”

Hurtig’s penalty condemned the US to its earliest ever exit from a Women’s World Cup, while Sweden now faces a quarterfinal against Japan on Friday.

“Obviously, it was crazy,” Hurtig said, speaking to reporters on Wednesday. “It was such a relief when I saw the ref pointing and then I went crazy. Just running and screaming … That night, I couldn’t sleep very well. It was a lot of emotions there.”

For the US, it was perhaps the cruelest possible way to be knocked out of a tournament, particularly after holding an early advantage in the shootout.

In what is often seen as a psychological – as well as technical – battle, both teams had their goalkeepers pass the ball over to the next penalty taker during the shootout, a tactic intended to make players more relaxed ahead of their spot kicks.

Sweden had also worked with a psychologist to help handle the pressure of a shootout, which assistant coach Magnus Wikman says was a crucial part of the team’s preparation.

“Some of the players maybe shoot in their clubs, so they are used to that,” Wikman told reporters on Wednesday.

“But in our team – yes, we practice technically, and that’s good – but his [the psychologist’s] job I think is more important to practice feeling the right mood, what will you do with the ball when you go to the penalty [spot] and people are screaming, what shall you concentrate and focus on. In that way, it’s the most important.”

Sweden’s next opponent, Japan, has arguably been the most impressive team at the tournament so far having defeated fellow quarterfinalist Spain 4-0 in the group stages and Norway 3-1 in the round of 16.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Hurtig told reporters. “It’s going to be a lot of work. But I think we played against them two years ago. We struggled a bit then also, but we managed to win the game, so I think we feel confident.”

The two teams will meet at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, on Friday in a bid to reach the final four.

Colombia has been enjoying an impressive run at this year’s Women’s World Cup and its historic achievements are drawing plenty of attention back home.

There may be more than 14,000 kilometers (over 8,700 miles) separating the team from their country’s capital city of Bogotá, but the players have still been inspiring their compatriots with their performances in Australia and New Zealand.

Unfancied going into the tournament, Las Cafeteras – translated into English as “The Coffee Growers” – have gone on to help knockout two-time world champion Germany in the group stage and reach the Women’s World Cup quarterfinal for the first time.

The squad is now the last South American team left in the tournament and will bid for a place in the semifinals when it takes on European champion England on Saturday.

“These warriors have us dreaming. Come on Colombia we are with you,” Colombia men’s star Luis Díaz wrote in a post on X – formerly Twitter – after the 1-0 win against Jamaica in the last-16 clash on Tuesday.

It was a sentiment echoed by the former captain of the men’s team, Radamel Falcao.

“Writing their own story. Congratulations. The whole of Colombia is with you,” he posted.

World No. 25 Colombia is the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and, according to sport data company Gracenote, it has less than a 1% chance of winning the title.

But after watching the team defy the odds over the past weeks, you get the feeling that Colombia is thriving as the underdog. No one expected the South American side to beat Germany, yet it did. No one thought Colombia would top the group, but it did.

Similarly, not many expect Colombia to beat England in the quarterfinals but, given the Lionesses’ poor performance in the last-16 against Nigeria, Las Cafeteras will fancy its chances of causing yet another shock.

In the aftermath of its last-16 victory against Jamaica, former star Melissa Ortiz was in tears as she explained the impact the result would have on the country and, in particular, women.

Ortiz was part of the generation which really pushed the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) to take women’s soccer seriously and was overcome with emotion when speaking on Fox Sports.

Win or lose against England, Ortiz said the team has already done enough.

“Just thinking about everything we’ve gone through as a country, as women. This isn’t just about the women’s soccer team, this is about women in Colombia and South America,” she said.

While the current generation of players is benefiting from the hard work put in by former teammates off the pitch, it is also raising the level on it.

More established stars such as captain Catalina Usme and forward Mayra Ramírez are being complimented perfectly by rising stars such as Linda Caicedo.

The 18-year-old has been one of the breakthrough talents of the tournament and has helped Las Cafeteras become a team to be feared on the world stage.

Caicedo, though, is not the only teenager impressing in a Colombia shirt.

Defender Ana María Guzmán, 18, played her first minutes of the World Cup against Jamaica in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, after replacing the suspended Manuela Vanegas in the starting lineup.

Despite her tender age and relative inexperience, Guzmán looked at home on the world stage and even produced the assist for Usme’s winning strike.

It was a performance, and passage of play, which drew rave reviews back home. The clip of the winning goal, in fact, has been viewed over three million times on X.

“How about that pass! How about that amazing goal from our captain the champion,” Bogotá’s Mayor Claudia López posted on the platform.

“Well done Catalina Usme and all of our incredible Colombia women’s football team.”

Guzmán was equally confident speaking to reporters after the memorable win against Jamaica, describing the “beautiful” feelings she had when the referee blew the full-time whistle.

“It’s an immense happiness,” she told reporters. “I’m happy for all of us because we deserve it, we’ve worked for this.

“We are a group of great players. I feel very proud of them and everything they’ve achieved. We deserve it and we are warriors.

“It’s inexplicable, I felt butterflies, I felt all kinds of things, but I’m really happy and I’m enjoying everything about this beautiful experience because it’s special,” Guzmán added.

“I’m grateful to everyone who was there and to the fans because they’re the ones that inspire us and drive us on.”

It’s a testament to the team that so many fans have made the journey from Colombia to watch Las Cafeteras in action.

Although difficult to calculate just how many have made the trip, their match against Jamaica on Tuesday sounded almost like a home game.

Of course, one would also have to account for all the neutral fans who have adopted Colombia as their second team, with its underdog exploits appealing to so many.

Being the only South American side left to support, the entire continent is also getting behind the girls in yellow.

“Colombia wins, South America wins,” former Argentina star Juan Pablo Sorín wrote on Instagram.

“Keep dreaming, keep fighting and getting the continent excited.”

Colombia now heads to Sydney where it will play England at Stadium Australia on Saturday, 6:30 a.m. ET.

If Colombia wins, it will be just two more victories away from pulling off arguably the biggest shock in the sport’s history.

Given the power to change anything on the PGA Tour, Jon Rahm says he would prioritize one addition above all others. It’s got nothing to do with prize money or rules – the Spaniard is pressing organizers for more portaloos.

“I can tell you right now my priorities are a lot lower than what a lot of people would think,” the two-time major champion told reporters on Tuesday.

“I know this is going to sound very stupid, but as simple as having a freaking porta potty on every hole.

“It sounds crazy, but I can’t choose when I have to go to the bathroom. I’ve told the Tour this many times, as simple as that,” added Rahm.

The world No. 3’s request may have come as no surprise to Brooks Koepka, who said Rahm went to the bathroom seven times during the final round of his Masters triumph in April.

Koepka’s comments were wrapped into criticisms of the “brutally slow” pace of play at Augusta National, feeding into a wider, hotly-contested debate around game speed that was gathering momentum at the time.

The introduction of a shot clock was one proposed solution, but Rahm is more interested in “simple little” changes beyond the course.

Thrilled with the nutritionists on hand at The Players Championship, Rahm wants to see them employed across more PGA Tour events, as well as expansions of on-site workout facilities. Though a fan of the gym trailers that accompany players to tournaments, they get “crowded” easily, Rahm said.

“I’ve mentioned many times making the Tour better for the players, and I mean that,” he continued.

“The very basic things they can do in tournaments to make them all as good as they can be is where I’d like to see some changes … I’m not so worried about purses and bonuses and those things.

“I think giving us the best amenities possible is one of those things that should be a concern. That’s at least a lot of things I keep going to with them – it’s not usually what’s on people’s minds.”

Rahm was speaking ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first of three playoff events for season-ending Tour Championship, which tees off at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday.

The 28-year-old arrives as the top-ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings as he chases a first career FedEx Cup triumph, having finished runner-up at the Tour Championship two years ago.

More success would cap a phenomenal year for Rahm, who has won four times on the PGA Tour this season to drive his career tally up to 11 since turning pro in 2016.

“I’ve had a good career so far, and only once I’ve been able to get multiple PGA Tour wins,” Rahm said.

“This is the second year of being able to do it, so hopefully I can keep adding to that and be able to get two or more in many seasons to come.

“I like to add that to one of my labels of consistency throughout it. But just having been able to win every single year for the last six years is quite an accomplishment.”

At least six people have died as a result of the fires that are continuing to ravage parts of Maui, the island’s mayor, Richard Bissen Jr., said at a Wednesday morning news conference.

“I’m sad to report that just before coming on this, it was confirmed we’ve had six fatalities,” he said. “We are still in a search and rescue mode.” He did not offer further details about the deaths.

More than a dozen people had to be rescued from the ocean, among them two young children, officials in Maui County said.

Several people are also unaccounted for, Bissen added.

“As a result of three fires that have occurred that are continuing here on our island we have had 13 evacuations from different neighborhoods and towns, we’ve had 16 road closures, we’ve opened five shelters,” Bissen said, noting more than 2,000 people were staying at shelters.

“We’ve had many dwellings – businesses, structures – that have been burned, many of them to the ground,” the mayor said, adding most were in the western town of Lahaina.

Bissen said helicopters that could not safely fly a day earlier due to high winds were in the sky Wednesday and using water drops to help suppress the flames. It will be impossible to estimate the extent of the damage until the blazes are put out, he added.

The flames have torched hundreds of acres and are still not contained.

“Local people have lost everything,” said James Kunane Tokioka, the state’s business, economic development and tourism director, at the news conference. “They’ve lost their house, they’ve lost their animals and it’s devastating.”

Video footage shot by Air Maui Helicopter Tours over parts of the Lahaina area shows entire blocks were decimated by the flames, with little but ruins and ashes left, and everything still engulfed in a thick, hazy smoke.

“In my 52 years of flying on Maui, I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” Olsten added.

Hawaii’s governor, who was on a personal trip this week, said he was rushing back to the state Wednesday.

No cell service and hospitals inundated

The true scope of devastation on the idyllic Hawaiian island remains unknown.

That’s because the infernos have knocked out cell service, hindered emergency communications and trapped residents and tourists on the island, which is home to about 117,000.

The wildfires – fueled in part by Hurricane Dora churning some 800 miles away – have cut off 911 service and other communications in many parts of Maui.

“Our hospital system on Maui, they are overburdened with burn patients, people suffering from inhalation,” she said. “The reality is that we need to fly people out of Maui to give them burn support because Maui hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment.”

The disaster also has wiped out power to more than 12,000 homes and businesses in Maui, according to PowerOutage.us.

Tourists are being discouraged from going to Maui, Luke told reporters Wednesday.

“Today we signed another emergency proclamation which will discourage tourists from going to Maui,” she said. “Even as of this morning, planes were landing on Maui with tourists. This is not a safe place to be.”

In certain parts of the island, there are shelters that are overrun, Luke added: “We have resources that are being taxed.”

Hawaii isn’t the only US state grappling with devastating wildfires – a trend some experts had predicted for this season. Parts of Texas are under a critical fire risk Wednesday, a day after a brush fire engulfed an apartment building in the Austin area.

But the crisis unfolding in Maui is extraordinary, Hawaii’s lieutenant governor said.

“We never anticipated in this state that a hurricane which did not make impact on our islands, will cause this type of wildfires,” Luke told reporters at Wednesday’s news conference. “Wildfires that wiped out communities, wildfires that wiped out businesses, wildfires that destroyed homes.”

A harrowing escape to a rainforest

Alan Dickar just learned one of his rental properties went up in flames when he saw Lahaina, an economic hub, get swallowed by wildfire.

Dickar, who has lived in the area for 24 years, said there was little time to flee.

“I grabbed some people I saw on the street who didn’t seem to have a good plan. And I had told them, ‘Get your stuff, get in my truck,’” he said.

“And there’s only one road that leads out of Lahaina, so obviously it was backed up,” Dickar said. “I dropped everybody else off and then I went to a place in another part of Maui that’s far away. And as soon as I got there, that whole area had to evacuate because of a totally different fire. … Just as I arrived, that whole area got evacuated.”

Dickar eventually fled to a remote part of Maui. “I figured that was enough, and I’m safe here at least from a fire evacuation because it’s a rainforest,” he said.

Clint Hansen took drone video Tuesday night that showed wildfires spreading just north of Kihei.

Live Updates: Wildfires burn in Maui, prompting rescues in Lahaina

And it’s not clear where the disaster will head next.

Maui fire officials warned that erratic wind, challenging terrain, steep slopes and dropping humidity, plus the direction and the location of the fire conditions make it difficult to predict path and speed of a wildfire, according to Maui County officials.

“The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but in a minute or two, it can be at your house,” Maui County Fire Assistant Chief Jeff Giesea said. “Burning airborne materials can light fires a great distance away from the main body of fire.”

Lost communications and stranded tourists

State officials are working with hotels and a local airline to try to evacuate tourists to another island, Luke said. But severed communications have hindered efforts.

“Resorts and visitors and commercial districts have lost communication due to downed cell towers and landlines that only work within very local areas. “As a result, 911 service is currently down,” said Mahina Martin, chief communications officer from Maui Emergency Management Agency.

Maui County officials have not been able to communicate with many people on the west side – including those in the Lahaina area, Luke said.

Satellite phones have been the only reliable way to get in touch with some areas, including hotels, the lieutenant governor said.

The Kahului Airport was sheltering about 1,800 travelers from “canceled flights and flight arrivals,” the Hawaii Department of Transportation posted on social media.

Members of the Hawaii National Guard are assisting with the calamity in Maui – with more on the way.

“Hawaii National Guardsmen have been activated and are currently on Maui assisting Maui Police Department at traffic control points,” Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, Hawaii’s adjutant general, posted on Facebook.

The overnight deployment was hastened by the dynamic fire conditions, Hara wrote, adding more National Guard personnel would arrive in the counties of Maui and Hawaii later Wednesday.

Hurricane Dora’s impact on the wildfires

Dora, a powerful Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph, was about 795 miles southwest of Honolulu as of Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

As Dora travels south of the islands, a strong high-pressure system remains in place to the north. The area of high pressure in combination with Dora is producing “very strong and damaging winds,” the National Weather Service said.

Winds as high as 60 mph are expected through the overnight in Hawaii, then will begin to diminish through the day on Wednesday.

“These strong winds coupled with low humidity levels are producing dangerous fire weather conditions that will last through Wednesday afternoon,” the weather service said.

By Wednesday afternoon, the area of high pressure, as well as Dora, will both drift westward, allowing the winds to subside.

Two brushfires were burning Tuesday on the Big Island, officials said in a news release, one in the North Kohala District and the other in the South Kohala District. Some residents were under mandatory evacuation orders as power outages were impacting communications, the release said.