SAIPAN – The American Red Cross is winding down its disaster relief operation for Super Typhoon Sinlaku 38 days after landfall, having sheltered more than 1,100 people across nearly 19,000 nights and deployed over 600 personnel to the CNMI, the operation’s incident commander said Wednesday.
Betsy Witthohn, incident commander for the Red Cross disaster relief operation and a member of the National Incident Command Team, said on Good Morning Marianas that the agency opened more than 29 shelters during the response, with the majority on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. Shelter populations have dropped from nearly 1,000 in the early days of the operation to 137 as of Tuesday night.
“We are very honored to have that invitation and have come and worked hand in hand with the PSS and DCCA and the Governor’s Office,” Witthohn said, recalling the call from the Governor during the eye of the storm asking the Red Cross to help with sheltering.
Witthohn, a 10-year Red Cross volunteer who has deployed to more than 30 disasters, arrived on Saipan April 27. She said her first deployment came after a wildfire destroyed 5,000 homes in her own town. She said the CNMI response has been a special honor.
“It’s the people we help,” Witthohn said. “On island, the people here are, I just, we’re all going home with something special in our hearts because the folks we’ve met, the local folks, no matter how difficult it is, there’s just this generosity of spirit and warmth.”
Dr. Joshua Wise, CNMI Board Chair for the American Red Cross, said the operation was his first disaster experience since joining the local board. He said working alongside national incident command personnel exposed him to roles he had not previously encountered.
“It’s been eye-opening,” Wise said. “Since I’ve been on the board, this is the first disaster that I’ve been a part of. So seeing everything in action is really different than what we’re used to with Blue Skies initiatives.”
This week the Red Cross consolidated shelters with the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, moving from a larger group down to four shelter locations. Two are managed by DCCA with Red Cross support and two are managed by the Red Cross, with casework conducted in collaboration with DCCA.
Over the course of the operation, more than 600 Red Cross personnel worked the response, with at least 500 deploying to the islands. Witthohn said deployments on the islands run three weeks rather than the standard two-week mainland deployment, an approach she said helps the agency steward donor dollars more efficiently. About 90% of Red Cross responders are volunteers.
Between 60 and 80 local youth volunteers have been working alongside the operation, sometimes putting in 15 to 16 hour days, Wise said. The youth volunteers have distributed tarps and cleanup kits and are currently assisting the mayor’s office with address verification.
“These kids working 15, 16-hour days coming in with the attitudes of wanting to help the community are just so inspiring,” Wise said.
Witthohn said clients leaving shelters work with Red Cross shelter resident transition staff and DCCA caseworkers to identify what they need to return home, which can include generators, cleaning supplies, bedding, or mattresses. Returning families receive a kit with food, water, and cleanup supplies. Where appropriate, the Red Cross also provides direct financial assistance for items needed to make a home livable.
On financial assistance, Witthohn said the agency is working as quickly as possible alongside the mayor’s offices and asked the public not to worry about the June 1 enrollment deadline.
“Anybody whose application is in by June 1st, we will continue to work that case, even if it’s after that date,” Witthohn said. “So we’re not going to run out of money. And we’ve gotten a lot of enrollments, which is great.”
She said residents with qualifying damage, judged by the same standards FEMA uses, may receive financial assistance, while those with non-qualifying damage can still receive resources such as food, water, and cleanup kits. Enrollment continues this week at the Survivor Resource Center at the Multipurpose Center and at Crystal Ray.
Witthohn said the operation is winding down rather than fading because the need has eased as electricity returns, FEMA-provided tents and temporary roofs are deployed, and people return home. A long-term recovery coordinator is on island working with local nonprofits to support the next phase, she said, with the local Red Cross chapter continuing forward.
Wise said the chapter is also recruiting youth and teen volunteers while schools remain out.
“If you have any youth and teenage volunteers that, you know, they don’t have anything to do since there’s no school, come on down, check us out,” Wise said. “We can use the help and help the community.”
