FEMA breaks ground on 1st house it will rebuild in NMI

Almost a year after the devastation of Super Typhoon Yutu in October 2018, the Federal Emergency Management Agency broke ground in Koblerville yesterday for the first house it will rebuild under the CNMI-FEMA Permanent Home Construction, or PHC-New.

The new building will be fully concrete and will be rebuilt for free.

The original house, owned by Soledad Ito, was one of the 462 homes that Yutu destroyed on Saipan. Yutu completely destroyed over 500 homes in the CNMI, leaving over a thousand people homeless. Ito currently lives adjacent to the destroyed house, in a wooden house constructed for her by her siblings.

“After the typhoon, it was very hard because I just lost my husband, and when Yutu came, I lost my house. …I had nothing. …I was living in shock. …I did not know what to do,” Ito recalls.

FEMA deputy regional administrator William “Bill” Roche expressed appreciation for Ito’s patience, as well as the many other survivors who are in line for the FEMA project.

Yutu survivors eligible for the PHC program are provided assistance in the form of brand-new constructed homes that will be built according to the standards of the CNMI’s latest adopted International Building Codes.

The new homes will be built complete with typhoon-proof shutters, backup water tanks, and kitchens with the ability to be enclosed for security purposes. The new construction is provided, in lieu of financial assistance from FEMA, to each eligible resident.

“It is a great day for the CNMI, and a great day for FEMA,” FEMA’s Sheryl Ann Clark said. “Yutu hit us almost a year ago, and there have been lots of people working behind the scenes to make sure that today can happen.”

“These folks have worked tirelessly with the survivors, whether it’s for the repair of homes that we’ve already started, or whether it was for the new construction. So I just want to thank everybody who’s participating, including, of course, our contractor on this particular event,” she added.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres also thanked FEMA, the contractors, and all the agencies who have been working hard to help the rebuilding effort.

Ito said that FEMA contacted her about the PHC program and she opted immediately to have a new house built, in lieu of FEMA cash assistance.

“We went to the seminar in Feb. 12, and we were told that the house will have a water catchment, shutters, everything. What they are doing is very, very helpful. It really is a brand-new day.”