On road to recovery
Crews dispatched to restore utility services
By Theresa Merto
Ric A. Eusebio/Pacific Daily News/reusebio@guampdn.com
Shelter from storm: Sean Sablan, 6, right, plays a video game as his mother, Christine Sablan, 38, center, holds him and his brother Reyvann Sablan, 7, in her arms while at Astumbo Elementary School in Dededo. The Sablan family was among the 427 people who still were occupying the school yesterday after Supertyphoon Chaba.
Repairs: Guam Power Authority troubleshooter Mike Tajalle, 28, of Piti makes repairs to a power line in Barrigada yesterday.
There were four storm-related injuries, some flooding and thousands of residents lost power, but all in all Guam was fortunate compared to nearby islands following the passage of Typhoon Chaba, which became a supertyphoon early yesterday.
Restoration efforts were under way at first light yesterday, after Chaba made its closest point of approach at 10 p.m. Sunday, bringing maximum sustained winds of 52 mph with gusts to 66 mph. The storm came within 75 miles from the island.
Guam Power Authority and Guam Waterworks Authority crews were expected to work throughout last night to restore service. As of 5 p.m. yesterday, 53 percent of the island had power, GPA spokesman Art Perez said.
At 5 p.m., the center of Supertyphoon Chaba was located about 210 miles northwest of Guam, 200 miles northwest of Rota, 195 miles west-northwest of Tinian and 200 miles west-northwest of Saipan. The maximum sustained winds were 180 mph with gusts to 220 mph. The storm was expected to intensify, said meteorologist Paul Stanko, with the National Weather Service.
From Sunday through Monday, about 9.3 inches of rainfall was recorded at the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport Guam, while about 9.6 inches of rain was recorded at Andersen Air Force Base. Saipan recorded 7.9 inches of rainfall and Rota recorded 12.6 inches of rain.
Guam was placed in Condition of Readiness 4, or all clear, at 4 p.m. yesterday. All government of Guam agencies will be open today, but public schools will be closed. DOE administrators and support staff, however, are asked to report to their respective schools to assess damage.
Gov. Felix Camacho is expected to lead a team of government workers to Saipan and Rota to help with recovery efforts. The team, which will include workers from the Guam Power Authority and Department of Public Works, is expected to leave today.
According to Joint Information Center lead public information officer Shawn Gumataotao, one person was treated for a storm-related fall and three others were treated for lacerations at Guam Memorial Hospital. They had minor injuries.
Meanwhile, rescue officials received a 911 call just after 5 p.m. yesterday of a reported swimmer in distress. Guam Fire Department spokeswoman Firefighter Phyllis Blas said yesterday that a boogie boarder was reported over the reef near the Aha'hayan Bridge, between Merizo and Inarajan. But the boogie boarder safely made it back to shore and the rescue was called off.
Residents are advised to stay out of Guam waters, which are still dangerous despite the storm's passage.
Power
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, about 53 percent of the island had power, according to Guam Power Authority spokesman Art Perez. That number, however, did not include the Navy and Air Force circuits.
During the storm, 65 percent of the island had power, including Navy and Air Force circuits.
Perez yesterday afternoon said it is too early to determine when power will be fully restored, but added that the power crews will continue working as long as weather permits. Crews worked during the storm to restore power to Guam Memorial Hospital. The hospital started receiving power just before 2 p.m. yesterday.
"The restoration efforts are focused on primary circuits," Perez said. Primary circuits include schools, major water-well circuits, and "major high-density" residential and commercial areas, including parts of Dededo and Yigo.
Perez said there have been major circuit outages in Tamuning, Mongmong-Toto-Maite, parts of Dededo and Mangilao, Talofofo, Yona, Inarajan and Yigo.
"There are other reported outages from villages and those are isolated trouble reports that are being given to the GPA dispatch at this time," Gumataotao said. "All (GPA) customers are advised to have safe operations of their generator units should their home or businesses be affected by power outages."
Gumataotao said main breaker switches should be turned off and all generators should be properly ventilated.
"And the disconnect switches must be properly installed by a certified electrician, as this will prevent a back-feed of power onto the power lines," he said.
There have been some reports of power fluctuations. In these instances, residents are asked to protect all vital electrical appliances and equipment by unplugging them or using surge protection equipment.
"Parts of the system are still unstable. As we energize more circuits, there may be some snags in the line, there may be some vegetation ... that may lead to some voltage fluctuations," Perez said. "As we energize more circuits and these situations occur, we would encourage customers to call into our trouble dispatch and report them."
Water
Throughout the island, residents were experiencing low to no water pressure.
Guam Waterworks Authority placed water tankers at: the former Bunny Hardware site in Maite, the Erskin Drive area in Agat, the Munoz area in Chalan Kotda in Dededo, J.P. Torres Alternative School in Santa Rita, Piti Community Center and Latte Plantation in Mangilao.
As of yesterday, crews were trying to clear out the Ugum Water Treatment Plant, which was shut down Sunday because of debris. Meanwhile, the Navy Water Treatment Plant was shut down because of high turbidity in the water, said Senior Chief Petty Officer Jonathan Annis, Deputy Public Affairs Officer for the Navy.
"The priority now is to get water production back on. When our production is back, then our priority is to fill our reserve tanks and supply water to our customers," Annis said. "We are working around the clock. We got a lot of people on it."
"They are working as hard as they can on it," Annis said, adding that there also was very low water pressure on the base.
Public Works
The Department of Public Works reported all roads and bridges have been deemed passable, Gumataotao said. During the passage of the storm, several roadways were impassable, including Marine Corps Drive near Polaris Point.
The Ordot landfill resumed operations yesterday.
Chaba babies
As of 9 p.m. Sunday, 95 expectant mothers checked in at Guam Memorial Hospital. As of noon yesterday, 16 expectant mothers remained, with seven babies born from Sunday through Monday, Gumataotao said.
Airport
At noon yesterday, Continental Micronesia resumed regular services for all of its flights. Japan Airlines arrivals and departures resumed yesterday. Continental Connection flights between Saipan and Rota also resumed. Northwest Airlines also has resumed regular operations. All Nippon Airways is scheduled to operate additional flights in and out of Guam today.
Kevin Vang
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