HONOLULU (KHON2) — In the wake of the August 2023 wildfires that devastated Lāhainā and much of West Maui, a sharp and deeply troubling trend has emerged: a surge in suicide and overdose deaths unlike anything Hawaiʻi has seen in nearly a decade.
A new study led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has confirmed what many suspected in the aftermath of the fires. Rates of suicide and drug overdose skyrocketed, and Maui was hit hardest.
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“We looked at both suicide and overdose together,” said Dr. Keawe‘aimoku Kaholokula, JABSOM Dept. of Native Hawaiian Health Chair. “Often we don’t know the reason for the overdose —whether it was an attempted suicide or otherwise. So, we thought we looked at both, as signs of emotional distress.”
Using national vital statistics data from 2014 to 2023, researchers found a 46% increase in suicide and overdose deaths across the state in August 2023. On Maui, the jump was even more extreme at 97% higher than previous months.
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“When we look at just suicide alone for that month, it was two times higher on Maui than any other county,” Dr. Kaholokula said. “It suggests the immediate effect that something like this has in our communities.”…