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Grotto claims two more lives
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Posted on Jul 17 2005
Two persons died after drowning underwater off the Grotto, a popular diving site on Saipan, as swells brought on by the passage of supertyphoon Haitang caused heavy rainfall and high surf.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric David did not reveal the identities of the two fatalities when interviewed yesterday. He said the two persons died after drowning off the Grotto Saturday.
As early as Saturday, the Emergency Management Office began issuing special weather advisories informing the public that heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms would be felt on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
Yesterday noon, the EMO said “island heating would produce scattered showers and a slight chance of thunderstorm to the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.”
But the agency said the small northeast swell generated by supertyphoon Haitang would fade by nighttime.
Saipan experienced continuous rainfall yesterday afternoon, damping wet the island’s roads. But the EMO said it received no report of major flooding that required evacuation of residents from homes.
In yesterday’s EMO advisory, Gov. Juan N. Babauta advised motorists to take extra precaution in driving due to slippery conditions on roads and highways.
“Fishermen and marine tour operators are to exercise caution due to poor visibility from the rain showers,” the governor said.
A of 1pm, the supertyphoon was located about 320 nautical miles southeast of Taipei and was tracking west-northwest, according to the National Weather Service.
