Having lived and worked in the Northern Mariana Islands for ten years during the 1990's, I followed the approach of Super Typhoon Yutu and its direct hit on Tinian and southern Saipan with concern. It was barely a week ago that the typhoon arrived. A category 5 storm with winds at 180 miles per hour, Super Typhoon Yutu was the strongest storm to hit any part of the U.S. this year. The road to recovery and normalcy will be long and hard, but the people living on the islands are resilient and will return stronger.
Residents hunkering down during the storm reported that their cement homes shook as the full force of the winds struck. Most of the homes on Tinian were destroyed as the storm lingered over the island for half an hour. Approximately 800 homes were destroyed on Saipan. Three major hotels are closed due to typhoon damage. Lines for gas and supplies have been long. Schools may be closed for another two to eight weeks. Elections on the island will be postponed until November 13, 2018. Miraculously, only one death from the storm has been reported.
A week after the storm, the local press is reporting that Saipan has been turned into a disaster zone. Nevertheless, some stores have opened and lines for gas, water and other supplies are shortening. It is predicted that it will take three to six months to restore 50 percent of Saipan's pre-storm power.
From an insurance perspective, it is unfortunate that home owners and businesses likely face a cumbersome process in seeking coverage for their losses. A slight silver lining might be that most of the damage was apparently produced by wind and not flood or storm surge, eliminating a common exclusion in policies which victims of many past storms in the U.S. have faced.
Good luck to Saipan and Tinian, and here's to a quick and painless recovery as possible.
