Cimaron dumps heavy rain

Cars pass through a flooded portion of Beach Road as heavy rains brought by Typhoon Cimaron dumped as much as 6 inches of rain on Saipan yesterday. (Jon Perez)

Saipan almost ground to a halt yesterday as an excessively wet Typhoon Cimaron whipped through the Marianas region, dumping 4 to 6 inches of rain that flooded many roads.

The Public School System cancelled all classes on Saipan and Tinian due to the bad weather, while Rota public classes remained open. The Northern Marianas College also sent their students home.

Some private schools followed a few moments later after Cimaron was upgraded to a Condition II weather disturbance.

PSS classes on Saipan and Tinian will remain canceled today, Aug. 21, 2018, according to an advisory last night.

“In the event that an ‘all clear’ is declared, central office staff, school administrators and noncertified staff are to report to work.

“PSS will be focused on resuming classes as soon as possible and will issue further notices as weather updates become available,” the PSS advisory added.

PSS opened the Kagman High School, Koblerville Elementary School, and Tanapag Middle School on Saipan and the Tinian Elementary School on Tinian as typhoon shelters.

As of yesterday, there are two shelterees in Kagman High; six at Koberville Elementary; 10 at Tanapag Middle School; none at Tinian Elementary School.

Interim education commissioner Glen Muña cancelled public school classes on Saipan and Tinian at 8:30am yesterday.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres ordered all government offices to shut down, sending all non-critical employees home to prepare for Cimaron. The Governor’s Office also moved Torres’ State of the Commonwealth Address to Friday due to safety concerns and the expected inclement weather.

The CNMI Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency maintains a 24-hour operation to keep track of Cimaron and other weather disturbances.

There has been one report of a power outage in the village of Papago, but power has been since then restored. No other outages have been reported as of press time.

As of 2:57pm yesterday, Torres upgraded the islands of Saipan and Tinian to Tropical Storm Condition I.

He also declared Typhoon Condition I for the Northern Islands of Agrihan, Alamagan, and Pagan.

Cimaron, as of 1pm, was situated at 235 miles northeast of Saipan; 250 miles northeast of Tinian; 175 miles east of Alamagan; 185 miles east-southeast of Pagan; and 210 miles east-southeast of Agrihan.

The Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport continued with its operations, with all inbound and outbound flights going as scheduled while domestic flights were called off as of 2pm. The U.S. Coast Guard also suspended all seaport operations.

The Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority suspended its regular routes and prepared to support any resident that would need help being transported from their homes to shelters.

Personnel from the Saipan Mayor’s Office and the Department of Public Works have been clearing roads of debris to keep it passable. Residents can report impassable roads to DPW’s Agency Operating Center at 3229498.

Worst condition

CNMI HSEMA external affairs officer Nadine Deleon Guerrero, in an interview with the Saipan Tribune, said the rest of the Commonwealth felt the brunt of Cimaron late evening yesterday and early Tuesday morning.

“The worst of it, meaning more wind and heavy rainfall. Saipan and Tinian will have gusts of up to 40mph, which sounds like a lot [but not as much compared] to the Northern Islands where they are going to get 70mph or higher,” Deleon Guerrero said.

She added that there are about 20 people living on the three islands but they have been in direct contact with them to keep track of their situation. “We keep in contact with them. We do it twice a day, at 8am and at 4pm.”

Deleon Guerrero said they anticipate Cimaron to continue its projected track of going further north, expecting it to hit Agrihan, Alamagan, and Pagan. “But we’re [Saipan] also going to experience the bad weather. We’re going to get a lot of rain and a lot of wind. We’re expecting 4 to 8 inches of rain in the next day or so.”

To work with DPW

Deleon Guerrero said that they are going to work with DPW to get information on the flood-prone areas on the island. “Normally, we’ve try to get help from DPW. I know they are also busy to [release] information on what areas flood the most.”

“Right now, they have a lot of priorities. So we’re expecting to meet with them in the next month or so to identify where those flood-prone areas are. For now, we don’t have any information yet because our guys haven’t gone out and done an assessment.”

“So we don’t want to say, this place is flooded just because it has been flooded before. Until our guys can do a windshield assessment, we’re not able to release information officially from our office.”