Saipan On the Road to Recovery

by the Pacific Historic Parks Staff

On October 24, 2018, Super typhoon Yutu passed over the Marianas Islands early in the morning. The eye of the typhoon passed directly over the islands of Tinian and Saipan, who experienced gust of 180+ mph winds. Thankfully, all Pacific Historic Parks (PHP) and National Park Service (NPS) staff in Saipan were unharmed.

Island residents woke up to roofs ripped off homes and business, toppled power poles and downed trees. The island of Saipan was left with no power and many electrical power poles and lines blocked the main road ways. There was spotty phone and data service island wide. Some places had no running water. It became obvious early on that restoration and recovery would take months.

Upon learning of the devastation on Saipan, Pacific Historic Parks gathered relief supplies and sent to their fellow teammates in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) food, water, clothing, and other emergency supplies. PHP also sent over 2,000 backpacks, water bottles, and pencil cases to help students in the CNMI Public School System, who were in need of these supplies. The Pacific Circle Consortium (PCC), an international forum of educators, promotes understanding and cooperation among the peoples and countries in and around the Pacific Ocean. PHP will be the host of the next PCC in Guam this summer. Our goal is to assist with scholarships for about 10 teachers from Saipan, an island still recovering from the ravages of Yutu.