Susupe Lake overflows

For 59-year-old Rose Guerrero Mondala, who has lived by the scenic Susupe Lake since 1960, the site is no longer paradise. Continuous heavy rains associated with Typhoon Tingting caused the lake to overflow, soaking her house in knee-deep floodwaters.

Sewage seeping out from a sewer line has also contaminated the lake’s water, creating a reeking smell. The residence has turned into a pond of mostly small fish, while sewage brought with it a slew of worms.

What worsened her situation, according to Mondala, was that she has yet to receive help from the government as of yesterday morning, four days after Tingting battered the islands with its record-breaking rainfall and strong winds.

“I’m building my house in Kagman and I’m going to move there. After all this experience, I don’t want this view of paradise anymore,” Mondala said.

There are over 30 residents in several houses by the lake—the Guerreros. Several children could be seen walking through the stinking flood on their way to Chalan Kanoa yesterday morning.

Across Mondala’s house stands an electrical facility, with wire soaked in flood. She expressed fear that the electrical wire could be live.

The Susupe Lake is a tourist attraction for its scenic and historical value. Mondala said veterans recently visited the lake during the commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian. Many residents regularly come to the lake to fish.

Mondala recalled that the last time heavy rains caused the lake to flood into her house was in 1974, when a storm also struck Saipan. At that time, the flood rose up to the waist that she and her family had to use a boat to get out.

This time, however, the heavy downpour associated with Tingting made her decide to quickly relocate to another village.

“This is a nice place. This is like paradise when there’s no flood. This was the heaviest rain after a long, long time,” Mondala said. “This is the most undesirable place to live in right now.”

The lake began overflowing Thursday afternoon, forcing her and her family to evacuate the place.

Mondala said she expects the lake’s water level to subside to normal after about a week if yesterday’s sunny weather continues.

Even before the typhoon closely approached Saipan Monday, Mondala said other family members were trying to reach the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., due to leaking sewage at an adjacent house. Her relatives suspected that the nearby CUC pump station malfunctioned, causing sewage to flow back into the house.

Efforts to obtain CUC’s help in the past days failed, with Mondala claiming that no one picked up their telephone calls. She managed to reach the Emergency Management Office Thursday, which dispatched a team to check on the Guerreros’ situation by the lake. The EMO assured the Guerreros that the problem would be relayed to concerned agencies, Mondala said.

As of yesterday morning, Mondala said they have yet to receive government assistance. She also telephoned the Governor’s Office yesterday to air their concerns.

“I’m Chamorro, but it takes moving the earth for them just to respond. Everything is so slow,” she claimed.