SAIPAN — Governor David M. Apatang joined FEMA Region 9 Administrator Robert Fenton, Rear Admiral Joshua Lasky of Joint Task Force Micronesia, and senior officials from the U.S. Department of Interior Saturday morning for the first major federal-local press conference since Typhoon Sinlaku made landfall, outlining recovery priorities, individual assistance programs and a coordinated debris removal plan.
Fenton said FEMA has more than 100 generators on Saipan with more arriving daily, brought in by air and sea through the Department of Defense. Generators have been installed at 41 percent of CUC water wells. With additional generators expected between Saturday and Sunday, that figure is expected to jump to approximately 60 percent. Every night at 6:00 p.m., the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Energy and Governor’s representative Patrick Guerrero meet to coordinate generator priorities for the following day.
Fenton confirmed that President Trump’s 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures is the first time in the current administration that such a designation has been made, reflecting the president’s direct support for the CNMI.
Fenton said FEMA will establish disaster recovery centers across Saipan and Tinian in the coming days to help residents register for individual assistance in person. Residents who cannot access the internet or a phone are encouraged to reach out to neighbors or community organizations, and FEMA field workers will be going door to door to assist with registration.
On debris removal, Fenton said the Army Corps of Engineers will work with the Mayor’s offices to announce sweep routes neighborhood by neighborhood. Residents are asked to move storm debris to the edge of the road, not in traffic lanes, and to separate it into categories: woody debris in one pile, metals and white goods (refrigerators, washing machines and appliances) in another. Normal household garbage should continue to go out through regular collection and should not be mixed with storm debris. Fenton said the Corps will reduce woody debris through chipping or controlled burning at the landfill and will remove white goods and damaged transformers off-island.
Guerrero said the debris removal effort will be more efficient than after Super Typhoon Soudelor in 2015, when vegetative debris sat at the landfill for up to 12 months. He said the plan this time is to conduct rapid sweeps and remove material quickly for health and safety reasons.
Lasky said approximately 10,000 military personnel from across the Indo-Pacific Command are involved in the Sinlaku response in some capacity. The 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam has airlifted close to 700,000 pounds of water, food and other materials to the CNMI. Navy Construction Battalions that were pre-positioned on Saipan and Tinian before landfall were able to begin work immediately after the storm passed.
William Hague, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular, International and Ocean Affairs at the Department of Interior, said his office will work with federal partners to identify programs that can support long-term infrastructure hardening and economic recovery for the CNMI, including the possibility of underground utility lines. He said the visit is focused on understanding what Interior can add to the already substantial federal effort.
Guerrero said he and the governor are coordinating with Fenton daily at the EOC and that CNMI government staffers have counterparts at every federal agency now on island. He urged media to reach out for more frequent updates and noted that FEMA media liaison Ms. Verde, who is a veteran of multiple CNMI typhoon responses, is embedded with the JIC.
Governor Apatang thanked President Trump for the major disaster declaration, Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds for her advocacy in Washington and Samaritan’s Purse for providing free drinking water at Sugar Dock and the Garapan Fishing Base. He said two additional desalination systems are expected from the Department of Defense to be set up in northern Saipan to provide potable water to residents in that area.
On disaster unemployment assistance and nutrition assistance, Guerrero said the CNMI government communicated with the Secretary of Labor and USDA before the storm and is working to submit applications for those programs immediately. DCCA Secretary is expected to submit the nutrition assistance application to USDA on Saturday.
