House floor leader Glenn L. Maratita (R-Rota) is appealing for the community\u2019s help as the people of the CNMI\u2019s southernmost island look to get back on their feet after the devastating onslaught of Typhoon Mangkhut on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Category 2 weather disturbance hammered Rota with strong winds that reached 139mph, while being drenched by eight to 10 inches of continuous rains last Monday. Mangkhut had minimal effect on the islands of Saipan and Tinian.<\/p>\n
The House Ways and Means Committee has offered to help, with committee chair Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan) saying that they would look at all available resources to find ways to assist the people of Rota. <\/p>\n
Former CNMI residents based in the continental U.S. have also began mobilizing to respond to the immediate needs of Rota residents.<\/p>\n
Maratita said he hasn\u2019t received any information yet from Rota Mayor Efraim Atalig since the last he spoke to him was early\u00a0Tuesday morning. \u201cWe talked to see if there were any injuries and to know the extent of the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what I heard, it was really devastating. Mostly down south, in the Songsong area. Utility poles and power lines were down, with the possible water contamination because of leaks. So, I\u2019m also still waiting for the whole assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is pleased that Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, Commonwealth Utilities Corp. executive director Gary Camacho, and representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were already in Rota doing an assessment.<\/p>\n
Maratita said that damage to property in residential areas were significant, with the affected families and persons currently staying in the designated shelter.<\/p>\n
He then appealed for any help from the community. \u201cAny kind of assistance from the general public will be accepted. Essential needs like food, clothing, and especially water, since water there is contaminated. Anything will be greatly appreciated and I\u2019m expressing an advance thank you to all who would help the people of Rota. Demapan said they first need to know how much the local and federal governments would fork out before making their own contribution. \u201cWe would look at all available resources and find out what ways we can provide assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is also important for us to quantify what\u2019s going to come out of the local government and from the federal [side], following the state of emergency declaration. It is also going to come down to us looking beyond the [CNMI fiscal year 2019] budget as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Responding to a request from Torres, President Donald Trump declared the CNMI yesterday under a state of disaster emergency, freeing up federal funds to help the CNMI recover.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want to have immediate resources, then we have to look at those that are available today. That\u2019s something that we\u2019re going to work with [Maratita], the [Rota] Legislative Delegation, the Rota Mayor\u2019s Office, and the administration,\u201d said Demapan. Torres has already issued a memorandum that all government offices on Saipan and Tinian would resume operations today, while Rota will remain close as the island tries to recover.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernment offices on Rota will remain closed until further notice due to ongoing recovery and relief efforts, and to ensure that Rota residents can tend to their families, personal property, and [other] belongings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile damage assessment for public and residential facilities will continue to be conducted on all three islands, we are allocating and prioritizing the necessary government resources for recovery efforts and mass care assistance on the island of Rota,\u201d added Torres.<\/p>\n Torres, along with local and federal officials, flew to Rota yesterday aboard two Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to examine the extent of the damage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe, along with our federal and military partners, will continue to monitor emergency support functions on all three islands with a specific focus on the needs of our people on Rota,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Interim Education commissioner Glenn Muna also issued a school opening notice. \u201cAll CNMI public schools will resume classes [today]\u00a0Sept. 12,\u00a0with the exception of all Rota schools and Rota Head Start Center.\u201d<\/p>\n Northern Marianas College interim president Frankie Eliptico also informed their students that schedule of classes resume today at the Saipan and Tinian campuses. \u201cFollowing [Tuesday] morning\u2019s \u2018all-clear\u2019 declaration by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, NMC offices on Saipan and Tinian will reopen and classes will resume as scheduled [today]. A separate announcement for NMC\u2019s Rota campus will be made.\u201d<\/p>\n PSS and NMC officials added that everyone should visit their respective social media pages for any further announcements and other updates.<\/p>\n The two First Hawaiian Bank branches\u2014Gualo Rai and Oleai\u2014on Saipan also opened at\u00a010am\u00a0yesterday while all Guam locations resumed operations at\u00a0Tuesday noon.<\/p>\n United Airlines\u2019 Corporate Communications also announced that they resumed their normal flight operations\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0except a cancelled flight (UA 196) from Guam to Narita. \u201cUnited urges customers should check the latest status of their flights at\u00a0united.com\u00a0or by calling 1-800-8648331.\u201d<\/p>\n State of emergency<\/strong><\/p>\n President Trump has declared a state of emergency for the CNMI following a letter sent to the White House last Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cI am pleased to announce that President Trump has approved my request for an emergency declaration for the [CNMI]. [The Federal Emergency Management Agency] is now authorized to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health, and safety or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe on the three islands\u2014Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSpecifically, FEMA is authorized to provide emergency protective measures limited to direct federal assistance, under Public Assistance Program at 75 percent federal funding.\u201d<\/p>\n Torres also directed yesterday for all U.S. and CNMI flags be lowered to half-staff the entire day pursuant to Public Law 107-89, which states that Sept. 11 of every year is designated as Patriot Day.<\/p>\n He then issued the \u201call-clear\u201d for the three islands yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n The CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management office also advised that a weather disturbance forming in the Marshall Islands and eastern Micronesia is \u201cnot expected to pose a threat to the Marianas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSatellite imagery shows disorganized areas of showers and isolated thunderstorms from Pohnpei across Kosrae and Kwajalein to Majuro. The associated circulation is broad and weak, with an ill-defined center near Kwajalein. Maximum winds are only around 10mph,\u201d said the HSEM advisory. The Coast Guard Sector Guam is also helping in assessing the damage wrought by Mangkhut. Personnel from Sector Guam, Station Apra Harbor, and the Pacific Strike Force from Alameda in California have been assessing the port conditions of Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.<\/p>\n \u201cReopening the Port of Guam is our top priority. We are currently conducting an on-water assessment with a crew aboard our 29-foot response boat from Station Apra Harbor, and have multiple teams that are making shoreside and facility assessments,\u201d said Sector Guam commander Capt. Christopher Chase. \u201cOnce these assessments are completed and safe navigation is available to all traffic, we will reopen the ports.\u201d<\/p>\n Guam Coast Guard is advising everyone that the waters in the surrounding Mariana group of islands remain dangerous despite Mankhut already passing the region. \u201cWe encourage everyone to stay out of the water until conditions return to normal.\u201d House floor leader Glenn L. Maratita (R-Rota) is appealing for the community\u2019s help as the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[26,69,67,6362],"class_list":["post-284293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","tag-cnmi","tag-nmc","tag-people","tag-sector-guam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nLooking for resources<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nOperation resumes<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nGuam Coast Guard<\/strong><\/p>\n
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