Tinian ports now open

Tinian Mayor Joey Patrick San Nicolas said yesterday that the Tinian airport and seaport are now open but only to receive emergency and humanitarian relief.

In a Facebook video post early Sunday morning, San Nicolas said the Tinian International Airport is still closed for commercial planes.

“The Tinian airport, from my understanding, is still closed for commercial activity,” he said. “However, it is open for humanitarian and emergency relief. I can tell you that [Saturday], the arrival of a C-17 and separate pallets of commodities, the airport was open for that purpose.”

A C-17 Globemaster III is a military transport aircraft of the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft is usually used in missions transporting troops and cargo, either for military or humanitarian aid purposes.

Rep. Edwin P. Aldan (R-Tinian), who joined San Nicolas in the video, said the opening of the airport means they can now receive emergency and humanitarian aid and planes can fly in and out of Tinian.

San Nicolas said the Tinian seaport has also opened for small craft. “The port is open for smaller boats. Smaller boats are allowed into our port. Tinian Shipping [and Transportation’s] boats are also allowed.”

“For those of you who wish to ship commodities or goods over [to Tinian], I respectfully ask you to get in touch with the folks at Tinian Shipping. Coordinate with Tinian Shipping.”

San Nicolas and Aldan added that for those who want to donate should get in touch with American Red Cross-NMI Chapter executive director John Hirsch at atjohn.hirsch@redcross.org.

The municipality has also provided pickup points for Tinian residents to help them get to the Tinian Gymnasium in San Jose that was used as a distribution center where the elderly, those with disabilities, and representatives of homebound patients were given priority.

San Nicolas said Commonwealth Utilities Corp. executive director Gary Camacho inspected Tinian with his personnel to also assess the generators used for the pump station. He said that they are awaiting the arrival of the new generator for the new pump station at the Maui well so water could again be distributed.

Gas is also a big issue for Tinian residents “because everything that we use requires gas. I understand that SN5 gas station and Tinian Fuel Service are both undergoing assessment on what needs to be done to fix their infrastructure,” San Nicolas said.

“They are working tirelessly to fix their gas stations so that we can use those gas stations for our cars and for our other machinery that requires gas. [Mobil Guam and Saipan] are working cooperatively with our two retailers.”

“We were able to resolve the issues regarding the generator at the Tinian Health Center and [Mayor’s Office], we were able to repair those two important generators of the island.”
 
Relief efforts

Almost 2,000 relief packs were given at the American Memorial Park station, with Monique Sablan coordinating the orderly distribution of rations that included water, blankets, tarps, rakes or shovels, and receptacles.

A lot of people volunteered in assisting the distribution that was done in two lines—one for walk in and for pick up in cars.
 
Team Rubicon

Veteran-led global disaster response group Team Rubicon USA has sent personnel to Guam to meet with local officials to identify the unmet needs and learn how they could help.

Team Rubicon Field Operations director Zach Brooks-Miller, in a statement, said Yutu was one of the strongest storms to hit the Commonwealth. “Our organization is built around a bias for action. As we have started seeing and hearing reports of damage across the islands, we’ve decided to send a recon team to meet with local officials, conduct damage assessments, and determine how Team Rubicon could step in to assist the residents impacted by this storm.”

Team Rubicon is a 91,000-strong organization of skilled volunteers that helps in stabilizing and recovery efforts of communities after being devastated by natural disasters.