The American Red Cross Northern Mariana Islands Chapter continues assisting Rota in their recovery after Typhoon Mawar.

John Hirsh, the Executive Director of CNMI American Red Cross said, "For those who have had major damage or their homes are not habitable anymore, we provide financial assistance. We’ve got a staff member and two volunteers, our Rota volunteers, to meet with all those families that were the most impacted and we are providing financial assistance."

He said they estimate 15-25 families, or roughly 100 people, are eligible for the financial aid, which will be provided through a credit card. They can also withdraw money with it at an ATM.

"It is based on two major criteria: one is how bad your damage was and how many people live in the home. So if you have two people in the home and have major damage you’d get a certain amount and obviously, if your home was completely destroyed and you had eight people then that amount would differ…just trying to meet those emergency immediate needs," he said.

Rota did not receive an individual assistance declaration under FEMA.

He added, "Our services, unlike FEMA, you do not have to be a U.S. citizen so anyone who experienced the damage regardless of their citizenship, their status, their ethnicity, we provide assistance to them."

And the American Red Cross had boots on the ground on the first flight out of Saipan to assess the community’s needs.

"We also layered upon our disaster distribution of emergency supplies. Thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard…we were able to load quite a bit of our humanitarian supplies on those flights and those included mosquito nets, and cleaning supplies, and hygiene kits, and tarps, and all...things that were essential to people, especially during those first few days," he said.

They worked with Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog to distribute daily rations provided by federal and local governments. Now their focus turns to the next phase: recovery.

"We meet with the families that are more heavily impacted. We sit down with them. We really do a much more detailed assessment of how many people are in the home, what exactly happened, and what are your emergency immediate needs. Not necessarily what you would want, but what do you really need at this time," he said.