Typhoon damage totals $1.7M

The CNMI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have completed their joint preliminary damage assessment for Saipan and Tinian, estimating the damage caused by Typhoon Tingting to reach over $1.7 million.

Based on the assessment, FEMA says the CNMI would not be eligible for individual assistance—the type that is directly given to affected individuals and families. However, the same assessment deemed both Saipan and Tinian eligible for federal assistance to rehabilitate public facilities damaged by the typhoon, according to Vicky Villagomez, the Governor’s Authorized Representative.

Reports have it that over 200 houses on both islands were destroyed or damaged by the typhoon.

Individual assistance normally includes housing assistance that provides financial help to displaced families so they could rent a temporary housing unit or a different place to live in. This can also make homeowners eligible for assistance to repair damage caused by the disaster on homes not covered by insurance policies.

The typhoon reportedly destroyed at least three houses and damaged 225 others on Saipan. On Tinian, some 25 houses reportedly sustained damage.

Villagomez, who is also the CNMI’s administrator for federal programs, disclosed reports of destroyed homes in the Northern Islands, but FEMA has yet to conduct an assessment in the area, particularly Agrihan and Pagan.

Villagomez also said FEMA representatives have yet to visit Rota for the joint damage assessment. She said FEMA representatives were supposed to arrive on Rota sometime last week, but the trip was cancelled and has yet to be rescheduled as of yesterday.

Villagomez said that federal assistance to rehabilitate public facilities damaged by Tingting would cover the costs of repairing infrastructure and utilities, debris removal and incurred overtime pay for emergency responders.

She said the over $1.7 million damage estimate does not cover infrastructure damage on Rota yet, adding that the Commonwealth Ports Authority had already estimated damage to Rota’s west commercial harbor alone at $1 million.

On Saipan, Villagomez said damage to primary roads could reach some $350,000. These roads include Beach Road, which was filled with debris and was soaked in floodwaters. Villagomez said rehabilitation of damaged primary roads could be covered by grants from another federal agency—the Federal Highway Administration.

Rehabilitation of secondary roads, however, may be eligible for FEMA grants.

RELIEF ON ITS WAY

Emergency Management Office director Rudolfo Pua said some 4,000 pounds of relief goods were to be shipped to Agrihan and Pagan last night.

The EMO said Monday that some 28 residents of Pagan and Agrihan islands are running out of food, a week after Tingting battered the Marianas.

Pua said the relief goods would arrive on Agrihan this morning. The boat carrying the goods would then head to Pagan to offload relief goods.

The office of Northern Islands Mayor Valentin Taisacan pooled donations from the islands’ residents who are living on Saipan, the American Red Cross and business establishments, Pua said.

Relief goods include rice, canned goods, beddings, cleaning kits, and four barrels of gasoline. The EMO director said the supply would last for a few weeks, but Taisacan’s office would be augmenting the relief supply eventually.

Meanwhile, debris removal on Saipan continues, with Pua saying that a long stretch of Beach Road from Garapan to Civic Center in Susupe has already been cleared of fallen trees as of yesterday afternoon.