The National Weather Service in Guam is advising that the severe drought occurring in the Marianas is expected to last the entire month of May.<\/p>\n
However, wind flow patterns are expected to slowly change, aiding in the spreading of rain over the region, according to a statement yesterday from the CNMI Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management.<\/p>\n
The Commonwealth has seen very low rainfall so far in May, and showers have been spotty and brief.<\/p>\n
Rainfall has been abnormally low over the CNMI since January and rainfall will continue to be below normal over the region through May, said HSEM based on a notice it got from NWS. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe likelihood of the post-El Nino-like dry weather pattern in the Marianas is seen to continue through the month of May,\u201d HSEM said yesterday.<\/p>\n
That means fire danger is extreme in the CNMI. <\/p>\n
\u201cSpecifically for\u2026Saipan, the drawdown of fresh water resources could be a problem in the next few weeks,\u201d the HSEM statement noted. <\/p>\n
Health issues such as pink eye and gastrointestinal problems become more common and more serious when water is scarce. Dehydration is also a major problem during droughts. <\/p>\n
To prevent fire, HSEM is urging the community to refrain from discarding lit cigarette butts out of car win-dows and to delay burning green waste or trash outdoors as the spread of wildfire is likely to occur. <\/p>\n
HSEM reminds the community that permits are required from the Department of Fire & Emergency Medical Services to burn outdoors and that littering may be punishable by a fine of $25 to $5,000 per offense. <\/p>\n
Because of the dry weather conditions notice received from NWS, HSEM is urging the public to conserve wa-ter by following these simple steps below for water conservation and safe catchment guidelines: <\/p>\n
1. Avoid flushing toilets unnecessarily<\/p>\n
2. Avoid letting water run while brushing teeth, shaving, washing your face or when taking showers<\/p>\n
3. Avoid pouring water down the drain if it can be used for another purpose, ie.: watering plants<\/p>\n
4. Avoid using running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods; defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or use the defrost setting in microwaves<\/p>\n
5. Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers (one drop per second wastes 2,700 gallons of water per year)<\/p>\n
6. Those with water catchment systems, clean roofs, gutters and catchments, but do not waste catchment wa-ter<\/p>\n
7. Catchment water should be for drinking only; however, always boil water FIRST before consumption<\/p>\n
8. Well water will likely become brackish and should only be used for cooking and washing<\/p>\n
9. Again, if you choose to drink catchment and\/or well water, always ensure water is boiled FIRST before consumption <\/p>\n
During dry weather, also keep in mind your pets and where they are situated. Refrain from tying or restrain-ing dogs or any other personal pets in outdoor areas that do not have shade, to prevent heat exhaustion or suffo-cation of animals. (Saipan Tribune\/PR)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The National Weather Service in Guam is advising that the severe drought occurring in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-299680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299680","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\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299680\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}