CNMI residents take shelter as Bolaven arrives

At 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios officially declared Rota, Tinian, and Saipan under Typhoon Condition 1.  Bolaven is arriving.

"The 7:00 forecast pass does show a passage between Rota and Tinian with those strongest typhoon force winds keeping offshore of both Rota and Tinian. This would be a best-case scenario if this track and forecast holds over the next 12 hours. Again, this would be a best-case scenario for the CNMI with the strongest typhoon force winds keeping just offshore," Landon Aydlett with the National Weather Service - Guam said. 

Its closest point of approach is expected around 4 p.m.  Tuesday as it passes through the Marianas through the night. The governor’s office is asking residents of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota to prepare for Category 2 Typhoon, which will bring 96-110 mph winds. 

Aydlett added, "Tinian is right up there, right in the crosshairs of this tropical cyclone. Any northward deviation would bring these typhoon-force winds over Tinian and Saipan and any southward deviation would bring those typhoon-force winds over Rota. Right now it looks pretty good but there may be a little bit of a wobble of the eye bringing those course change more toward the west northwest. So we're going to be watching that closely on the radar imagery."

 

Early Tuesday morning, at least 79 people were in public shelters. That number is expected to increase as Bolaven nears. At Marianas High School, the youngest resident in the shelter is just 4 weeks old and the oldest is 71 years old. 

Vice-Principal of Marianas High SchoolcMelanie Rdiall told KUAM, "It’s not the first storm and for some of them they're returning from the last storm and like the last storm, they're really just nervous more about what damages the storm might entail and what it may bring and whether or not they are going to go home and to come back home to a complete structure. We can see the rain picking up and probably the wind will pick up later on this afternoon."

She added, "I try to keep my calm, of course, that's more important, to have all the patience."

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation is advising residents to prepare for water service interruptions and to fill up water containers, bathtubs, and tanks.  They’re asking residents to conserve water. CUC says if a power outage occurs during the storm and affects water well pumps, they will prioritize restoring electricity to maintain post-storm water services for the community.

Over on Tinian, Mayor Edwin Aldan says funding for fuel is an issue. He said, "We need to start purchasing our fuel too. Here on Tinian we only have one fuel station and we need to pay before we get service…I have been telling Homeland Security to run up the payment for the fuel because they are closing at 12 today and there are only 700 gallons left in that fuel tank that we desperately need…It has always been Homeland Security that provides fuel for the response for this typhoon and it is kind of like an issue for us and they say it is coming, it is coming and it is not showing. We have to fork out the fuel for these departments that are going to respond…to pull out at least a minimum of six gallons for them."

However, he says, they are ready for Bolaven. Aldan added, "We have some equipment staged already at the mayor’s office and we are waiting for further instruction from Homeland Security…we pretty much have the shelters in place at PSS. Tinian Health Center has been online since last night. We are just waiting for this thing to come through the CNMI."