Hocog ‘thankful, grateful’ after Man-Yi detour

Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog is thankful and grateful that Tropical Storm Man-Yi, which was initially expected to pass extremely close to the island of Rota, veered south and the island escaped relatively unscathed.

“The power is okay, no flooding, weather looks good,” she told Saipan Tribune yesterday morning. Hocog shared that they had been expecting an “all clear” status that afternoon. As to shelters, she shared, “We had a few calls made to our shelter to inquire information but no checked in clients.”

Hocog shared that overall, she was thankful, “We are so grateful the tropical storm did not escalate and so thankful it will be leaving our island sparing any damage to our island or harm to our people.” She added, “I thank our people for their responsiveness to prepare, and thank all our responders for doing their part to help, preparing to respond if needed. I also want to thank those who worked at the shelter, in case, we had any families seeking shelter.”

Hocog also thanked Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, CNMI Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and National Weather Service for their reports as well as all CNMI departments and agencies for their support and guidance.

There was a power outage on Rota yesterday but not due to damage from the storm, according to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

Following the westward movement of Tropical Storm 25W (Man-yi), at 10:30am yesterday the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port reset the Port Heavy Weather Condition (PHWC) to WHISKEY for Commonwealth ports, and around 1pm did the same for Guam.

In a press release, Cmdr. Ryan Crose, deputy sector commander, U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam, shared “We thank our maritime partners for prioritizing safety. We anticipate vessel traffic and cargo operations in the ports to resume later today.” He added, “Our assessment teams are working rapidly to survey infrastructure and ensure safeguards are in place so we can officially reopen the commercial ports. Our regular operations are returning to normal, and the mission support team members under Base Guam and sub-units are assessing our facilities for any additional impacts.”

According to the report, as of yesterday, COTP’s team and partners were still closely monitoring awaiting commercial traffic, including tankers and cargo vessels loaded with freight. Personnel at regional port facilities report no damage or issues.

The U.S. Coast Guard stated that they continue to advise caution as Tropical Storm Man-Yi moves westward away from the Marianas. Although the immediate threat passed, Guam and Rota remain under a Tropical Storm Warning. A high surf and small craft advisory are in effect through Thursday, and a rip current statement will be active through Wednesday evening.

As of 2pm yesterday, HSEM issued a update that Tropical Storm Man-Yi, which had been tracking west-southwest yesterday, no longer poses a threat to the Marianas.

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and CNMI HSEM Emergency Operations Center-State Warning Point issued an “all clear” for Rota and shared that storm warnings for Guam and Rota have been canceled. Strong gusts, however, were said may persist in some areas through the afternoon, according to the latest update from the Emergency Operations Center-State Warning Point

As of 1pm CHST on Nov. 13, Man-Yi was positioned about 150 miles west-southwest of Guam, 200 miles southwest of Rota, and approximately 265 miles southwest of Saipan, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. Moving at 18 mph, the storm is expected to veer slightly westward with a minor decrease in speed through Thursday. Forecasters anticipated some intensification, but the tropical storm’s trajectory will eventually takes it farther from the Marianas.

While Man-Yi no longer poses a direct threat, residents are advised to monitor weather forecasts and alerts through local media and NOAA broadcasts.

For further information, the CNMI Emergency Operations Center-State Warning Point remains available around the clock at (670) 237-8000 or (670) 664-8000.