jmc

Since the $72$ cm wire is cut into two equal pieces, each piece must have a length of $36$ cm. This means that the circumference of each of the circles is $36$ cm. Next, we find the radius of one of these circles. The circumference of a circle is equal to $2\pi r$, where $r$ is the radius of the circle. Setting this expression equal to $36$, we have that $2\pi r=36$, so $r=18/\pi$ cm.

Since the area of a circle is $\pi r^2$, we know that the area of each of these circles is $\pi \cdot {\left(\frac{18}{\pi }\right)}^2=\frac{324}{\pi }$. There are two such circles, the sum of their areas is $2\cdot \frac{324}{\pi }=\boxed{\frac{648}{\pi }}{\text{ cm}}^2$.