HONOLULU (AP) — Approximately one week after Typhoon Mawar struck Guam as the strongest storm to hit the U.S. Pacific territory in over two decades, much of the island remains without power, and the governor is appealing for patience as the recovery process is expected to take at least a month.
While Mawar did not cause any deaths or catastrophic damage, officials reported that as of Friday, only 28% of power had been restored on the hot and humid island. About 44% of mobile towers were functional and approximately half of the water system was operational, according to Bob Fenton, regional administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Mawar briefly made landfall as a Category 5 storm on May 24, impacting the northern tip of the island, which has a population of roughly 150,000 people. The storm resulted in flipped cars, roof damage, and stripped trees.
There have been long queues for gasoline and officials estimate that it will take four to six weeks before power is fully restored. FEMA does not yet have an exact count of the number of homes destroyed. High school classes on Guam have been consistently postponed.
Nearly 3,500 people have registered for individual assistance, a number that Fenton expects to increase significantly as communication networks improve
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Fenton has experienced numerous typhoons during his 26 years working with FEMA in the Pacific islands, including Guam.
“Guam has been doing a good job of hardening parts of their system,” he said, referring to the impact of Super Typhoon Pongsona in 2002.
Since then, wooden power poles have been replaced with concrete or composite material poles. Additionally, many buildings are now constructed with concrete, although there are still some less sturdy structures with tin roofs.
“The system gets better every day,” Fenton said, acknowledging the challenges of living without power even for a single day. “We’re here for the long haul”.
Gyuri Kim was in labor with her first child when the typhoon hit Guam, causing flooding in the hospital and making the walls shake.
“The house was trembling,” Kim said. “I was worried that the roof or the walls would fall.”
After giving birth, she had to wait outside in a hallway on a couch because there were no available rooms due to the flood damage, she told the Associated Press (AP) via text messages on Saturday.
Kim’s husband came to the hospital after Grace was born but couldn’t stay long because he had to repair their own storm-damaged roof.
Conditions were difficult for the new mother at home, where there was no electricity to cool down the humid heat.
“We’re patiently waiting for power and water to come back,” she wrote. “Grace is doing well! I just feel bad when she sweats a lot.”
Kim’s obstetrician delivered six babies, including twins, during the storm.
“And it was just an incredible, incredible challenge that these women had to go through,” said Dr. Thomas Shieh. “Some of them were in a lot of pain, and there was no air-conditioning. It was terrible.”
While one of the twin girls was still being monitored in the neonatal intensive care unit for breathing issues, parents Blessy and Ramil Argana went to a hotel with the other one after leaving the hospital on Sunday.
“Our home is messy. There’s debris on our streets,” Blessy Argana said from their hotel room on Thursday. “And there’s no power, water and internet. It’s like a ghost town.”
Guam Memorial Hospital, the only civilian hospital on the island where births take place, suffered significant flood damage but remained operational.
Guam is a crucial hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific, with about 6,800 service members assigned to the island, according to the Pentagon. Prior to the storm, military officials evacuated personnel, families and employees, sent ships out to sea, and moved aircraft off the island or secured them in protective hangars.
The A.B. Won Pat International Airport, which also experienced flooding, resumed regular flight operations on Monday.
Mayor Jesse Alig of the town of Piti and president of the Mayors’ Council of Guam has been vocal about his disappointment with the preparedness and response of Guam officials.
“Yes, we’re recovering. The island is cleaning up fairly well,” he said but expressed the need to provide resources and information to the people. “I just think we didn’t plan well enough.”
In a Facebook video on Wednesday, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero acknowledged his frustration. “We heard from Mayor Alig,” she said, announcing that $100,000 would be given to each mayor to assist with immediate needs.
“Progress is being made,” she said, noting that more lights were coming on and more people were getting their water restored.
