Weeks after a powerful typhoon tore through northern Guam and the island of Rota, relief workers and supplies are still making their way across the Pacific as part of recovery efforts. Hawaii-based city, state and federal officials are preparing to help rebuild and repair transportation infrastructure on Guam following damages sustained during Typhoon Mawar, while volunteers are working on the ground assisting residents.
In a phone interview from Guam, American Red Cross Pacific Islands Region CEO Diane Peters-Nguyen told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that officials at Naval Base Guam told her the device measuring wind speed broke during the storm and that “they think it was even stronger than was reported.”
The Category 4 storm caused power and internet outages, damaged cars and buildings, and flooded roads when it hit in May. Today many residents are still without power, food or water and others are still displaced by the storm. Peters-Nguyen flew out of Honolulu on June 9 and has been on the ground since. She described the devastation in Zero Down, a subdivision in the northern municipality of Yigo, which she said was among the hardest-hit communities.
“My first full day it was the worst destruction that I’d seen anywhere,” said Peters-Nguyen. “It was just this kind of a broken jungle area with downed power lines and homes just reduced to rubble. I mean, where there was just like nothing left. And we could barely get through on the roads.”
After the typhoon, the Federal Emergency Management Agency chartered planes in Hawaii to airlift supplies from its Diamond Head facility to Guam. But a significant number of people in Zero Down won’t be getting help from FEMA. Many of the residents are citizens of island nations like the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau or the Marshall Islands.
“They won’t qualify for FEMA assistance, unless someone in the family is an American citizen,” said Peters-Nguyen. “The Red Cross does not make that distinction. All of our services — sheltering, feeding, financial assistance — is available for everyone, regardless of where they’re from.”
Through the Compacts of Free Association, citizens of those countries are able to travel visa free to U.S. states and territories and access some U.S. government services — but not storm relief. After the typhoon they’re depending on volunteers and charities to help them navigate the aftermath of the storm. Peters-Nguyen is one of eight Red Cross volunteers from Hawaii, part of a larger group of 300 from the Red Cross that have been helping.
“This is what we would call Level Six, this is a big, big disaster response. … These folks have been trained in all of the specific areas,” said Peters-Nguyen. “But I think one of the unusual things is we don’t usually do sheltering or feeding in Guam or (the Northern Mariana Islands). But the need is so great, and we were asked to help with sheltering and feeding.”
She said about 8,000 homes have received disaster relief supplies. The Red Cross also is operating two shelters with a current population of 438. She said that’s a major decrease — thousands had sought shelter but many have since returned home or moved in with family. She estimated that as of Thursday they have provided 140,000 meals so far, or about 7,000 meals a day.
“I think that in Hawaii that there has been a lot of interest because people have family ties and they know people there,” said Peters- Nguyen. “Initially in the mainland, I think people weren’t necessarily (aware) that Guam was a territory and these are U.S. citizens. It’s just so far and remote. But the fact that we have responders basically from all 50 of our Red Cross regions across the country is just amazing, to see the Red Cross in action is a wonderful thing.”
They are also doing “mobile feedings,” going out to the most vulnerable communities like Zero Down. But the damage to roads and other infrastructure has made that a challenge at times.
This week the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services announced it would partner with the state Department of Transportation, Hawaii Emergency Management, Federal Highways Administration and FEMA, and that it will be sending a crew and equipment to Guam. About 90 traffic signals need restoring on Guam after the storm.
“We understand the immense challenges faced by the people of Guam in the aftermath of this devastating storm, and we are committed to providing the expertise and resources needed to restore their essential services,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi in a statement. “Island communities across Hawai‘i and throughout the Pacific have a proud history of supporting our friends and neighbors in need. When we saw the devastating impact Typhoon Mawar had on Guam and its people, we committed to helping in any way that we could, knowing full well that they would’ve done the same in return.”
The city’s Department of Transportation Services is sending a two-person crew; a heavy-duty, bucket- equipped utility truck; and traffic signal lights equipment and controllers along with related supplies and tools to assist the Guam Department of Public Works. The crew is expected to be on Guam for seven days, but will rotate with other city traffic signal workers if their assistance is needed longer.
“In any natural disaster, the resilience of our built infrastructure is tested,” DTS Deputy Director Jon Nouchi said in a statement. “We stand with Guam and our Pacific Island brothers and sisters, and are proud to assist and send resources to aid them in their time of need. The devastation in Guam should serve as a reminder that here in our island state, we are also vulnerable to hurricanes and should prepare for these drastic weather events.”
Additionally, the Honolulu Department of Facilities Maintenance will help transport equipment to the airlift site at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Peters-Nguyen said that about 68% of households have had electricity restored. But some of those homes are still flooded or have severely damaged roofs. The storm also damaged several water wells and downed power lines.
The Red Cross is doing damage evaluations of homes to see if any residents might be able to receive relief funds. Peters-Nguyen said that “hopefully, as the electricity comes back on, we’ll be able to go into the next phase which is called ‘shelter resident transition,’ where we work with them and try to find where they can go if they can’t go back to their homes because they’ve been damaged or destroyed.”
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Staff writer Mark Ladao contributed to this report
