Christmas Eve for residents in the southern tip of the island was different than most. At least 53 homes in Malesso and Inarajan were impacted by significant flooding caused by heavy rainfall last week, with some families losing all their belongings. Today, the American Red Cross continues their assessments and outreach.

Residents in both villages spent the holidays picking up the pieces from last week’s unexpected flash floods. Many families got an abrupt wake up call on Christmas Eve to dangerous floodwaters, some waist-high in their homes and out in the streets.

"There were some houses that got really totaled. One family was about waist high for about two hours. They lost everything," reported Franklin Champaco, mayor of Malesso. "One family lost a pet, lost a dog too from the flood."

Mayor Champaco and his staff responded on site around 4:30am, with the Department of Public Works arriving around 7am. He says homes near Hemlani Apartments and the Barcinas area were most affected, adding, "Just right over here, across from me, you couldn’t get through. [The water] was up to the middle part of the door so we couldn’t get through. The other side near the Barcinas part was also pretty bad."

The American Red Cross also activated, helping residents with urgent needs. "Our tentative count we assessed looks like 53 houses. There may be more," said disaster program manager Edward Lee. He says they’ve been distributing comfort and cleanup kits, and continue to work to address medical needs.

While Malesso is no stranger to floodings during heavy rainfall, Lee says it’s “one of the worst” ones he’s seen down south, and residents agree.

"They are saying that the flooding was actually worse than what they experienced during Typhoon Mawar," Lee said.

Mayor Champaco blames the poor infrastructure, an issue he’s sounded the alarm on earlier this year, noting, "For example, this bridge here, what really causes it is there’s pillars. I feel like if we dredge it up a little bit more and move those pillars, then the debris will flow right through and then it won’t clog there. And the houses inside won’t flood."

Bamboo debris from up-river clogged drainage channels, and he says the rainwater had no where to go but up…and over. "I have a meeting with the lieutenant governor and we’re going to sit down and discuss mitigation efforts," said the mayor.

Adelup says crews from Public Works were on site the day before the flooding, working to mitigate drainage issues as they anticipated continued rainfall. The National Weather Service says Guam experienced “record-breaking rainfall” two days before the flooding, recording its highest daily rainfall in history.

"Some of the houses had up to 53" of water at least from what we could measure," said Lee.

In the meantime, the community came together to clean up, from Andersen Air Force Base's Sister Village Squadron to the G3 Grow Conservation Corps volunteering over the weekend, filling up dumptrucks with debris. And the American Red Cross continues to help residents get access to resources.

Lee said, "No disaster is [too] small or large. Like I always say, it never hurts to ask. If they need to, they can call our local chapter."

Financial or in-kind donations can be made to the American Red Cross by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.