CNMI govt ‘clears’ confusion at disaster recovery center

The CNMI government has sent some of its employees to “clear things up” after hundreds of residents trooped to the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center early Monday hoping to get assistance.

LJ Castro, public information specialist of the Office of the Governor, confirmed that residents went to the center, which is one of the designated disaster recovery center by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

But the DRC is not yet opened to the public as it is still being retrofitted with generators and landlines.

“We’ve been trying to tell everyone that Disaster Recovery Centers are still in the process of being established. Sometimes, information gets out slower than we want to but that does not mean we are not pushing it out,” Castro said, adding that there was “miscommunication.”

However, Castro said the proper authorities—government employees and federal representatives—“did get a chance to square things up.”

“Most of the concerns there are FEMA registrations. So some of our staff [went] there and tried to alleviate the confusion. They were there to tell the public that nothing is open for now,” Castro said.

Castro also dispelled rumors of assistance being made available at the center.

Rumors

There have been rumors that assistance in the form of cash vouchers were being made available at the DRC.

Rumors that the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs’ Nutritional Assistance Program is giving away food stamp at the Multi-Purpose Center also circulated as early as Sunday evening.

Some confused residents asked for confirmation on the distribution of food stamps. Asked if they are distributing, the NAP said “not today.”

NAP director Walter Macaranas said they did not announce any distribution of food stamps yet. He added that they are in the process of discussing issuance of food stamps following the disaster brought by Typhoon Soudelor.

Macaranas added that they will announce and inform the public if they are indeed going to distribute food stamps

FEMA update

A statement from press secretary Ivan Blanco said the number of FEMA registrants have reached 3,018 as of yesterday evening.

Blanco said the FEMA “differentiates registrants based on what they indicate during their call in or when registering online.”

Of the total, 2,172 are seeking individual assistance while 846 were the combined total for businesses, homeowners and renters.

The CNMI government continues to urge residents to register via 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) and through the website at www.fema.gov.