Residents of the Micronesian State of Chuuk were struggling to clear the roads of huge pieces of debris and return to damaged homes yesterday as Super Typhoon Maysak cut a destructive path across the central Pacific, leaving at least five dead.
Crops were ruined and water supplies contaminated, with fears people faced starvation if they did not receive aid soon, after the violent storm took three days to cross the vast Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).
“Governor Johnson Elimo declared a state of emergency [in Chuuk] due to damage by Typhoon Maysak, including five deaths,” Micronesian President Manny Mori said in a statement, indicating foreign aid would be needed to support relief efforts.
Photo: AFP
He did not specify where the deaths occurred, but earlier reports said five people were killed on Chuuk.
Hiroyuki Mori said he spent the day with other residents trying to clear the roads using chainsaws, adding that many families abandoned their homes and sought refuge in more solid structures, including local hotels, as Maysak pounded the archipelago.
“Trees fell on our houses and parts of the roof tore up. Everyone in my compound, [who] are all family members, suffered damage to their homes as well,” he said.
Maysak, with sustained winds of 260kph, slammed into Chuuk on Sunday night and crossed the vast archipelago of 607 islands before battering the Yap group of islands yesterday and then heading out to sea toward the Philippines.
Maysak is forecast to remain a super typhoon “through to early Friday morning,” meteorologists in Guam, 1,000km away, said in a bulletin yesterday afternoon for FSM.
Many residents of the islands hit by the storm were trying to return home to begin clearing the damage and rebuilding.
“The immediate need is food, water and clothing,” University of Guam Telecommunication and Distance Education Operation associate director Manny Hechanova told the Pacific Daily News in Guam.
Weno Island resident Mori said locals had up to a week of food, noting that “many of our food producing plants are destroyed.”
North Pacific representative for the Red Cross, Victoria Bannon, told reporters the charity was on the ground in Chuuk and Yap and “in full mobilization mode.”
She told reporters they had access to pre-positioned relief supplies, such as tarpaulins and ropes for shelter, buckets, cooking sets and lanterns, while a ship full of aid set off from the state of Pohnpei on Tuesday, stopping at islands where help was needed.
Maysak, which comes on the heels of destructive Cyclone Pam that hit the Pacific nation of Vanuatu two weeks ago, is expected to weaken before it makes landfall in the Philippines by the weekend, the Philippines government weather station said.
“This is very strong and it will maintain its strength as it nears, although we expect that the typhoon will weaken,” Esperanza Cayanan, an officer at the Philippine weather bureau, said in a televised briefing.
The Philippines put troops on alert yesterday and prepared food and medical supplies, as it warned residents and tourists along its eastern coast to be ready for a super typhoon expected to land sometime in the next 72 hours.
British-based Tropical Storm Risk said Maysak would likely weaken to a category 2 typhoon, with maximum winds of up to 175kph, when it hits the Philippines.
Alexander Pama, executive director of the Philippine disaster agency, said the biggest challenge for authorities would be keeping tourists traveling to northern provinces for the weekend safe when Maysak makes landfall.
Thousands of Filipinos have already begun traveling to the provinces and popular tourist spots before the Easter weekend.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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