Babauta, officials do islandwide inspection

Gov. Juan N. Babauta and some other government officials spent their day yesterday making rounds islandwide to assess the impact of Typhoon Tingting.

Babauta, who rode in the car driven by Public Works Secretary Juan Reyes, began the inspection in Lower Base and Garapan area.

“There’s widespread flooding. That’s because of the heavy rains brought by the typhoon. The drainage system is just inadequate. Well, any system could be inadequate in this situation,” said Babauta.

He said fallen trees could be seen in several areas “because the soil had been saturated.”

“Remember that it’s been raining in the past week or so,” he said.

Babauta, who dropped by at the Emergency Management Office early afternoon, decided to elevate the tropical storm to typhoon condition at about 2:30pm when maximum sustained winds reached 75mph with gusty winds of 90mph.

Babauta said he and other officials visited different emergency shelters on the island.

As of 3pm, the government recorded 197 evacuees that are temporarily sheltered in various schools.

As of 7pm, Babauta who was in Koblerville Elementary School, said that based on forecasts, the heaviest rains were expected last night.

“I think we’re going through the second half of the typhoon. I just talked with EMO and it said that heavy rains would continue in the next three to four hours,” said the governor.

Hopefully, he said, the typhoon’s strength would lessen beginning today.

No initial estimate of damages has been assessed yet. “It’s still hard to tell because we’re in the middle of it,” Babauta said.

He said the massive flooding would bring damage to properties, cars, and crops.

Commonwealth Utilities Corp. emergency response staff Larry Guerrero said falling trees had damaged several electric poles causing power interruptions. He said the CUC trouble desk was activated to respond to emergency calls.

Meantime, EMO staff John Mario and Digna Kaainoa said that EMO’s seven lines and hotlines were ringing continuously with calls from residents wanting to get weather updates.

Secretary Reyes said his team had been alerted 24 hours to clear roads of fallen trees and other obstructions.

Public Safety Commissioner Ed Camacho said the situation was “tough.” “There’s lots of water damage,” he said.

He said the heavy downpour had caused ravines to enlarge, rocks to fall, and streams to overflow. “We advise the public to take extra caution when driving,” he said.

Babauta said “people should better stay indoor” when they can. “Stay dry. Stay at home,” he said.

Rep. Joseph Deleon Guerrero, who went to EMO yesterday afternoon, also visited emergency shelters. “I’m doing my rounds with my son to assess the situation,” he said.