Each typhoon puts island resilience to test; Guam returns to normal amid power and water outages

 By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Guamanians woke up Monday morning to the same sound of the howling windstorm that lulled—or terrified— them into sleep the night before.

“Am I nervous? Of course. It would be unrealistic not to feel some nerves because different scenarios can always come to mind,” said Tes Reyes-Burrier of Tamuning.

 “That's exactly why we prepare, plan ahead and stay ready to respond. Being prepared gives us the confidence to handle unexpected situations calmly and effectively,” she added.

For residents of an island that sits in typhoon alley, preparing for a typhoon is almost routine.

But each weather event is like a mystery box—as if its nature is designed to challenge precision.

Each typhoon may prove the resilience of the Guamanians but challenges the resilience of the island's infrastructure systems.

“After nearly a week of preparedness, planning and actions to take shelter from the developing super typhoon, and a morning of damage and

destruction, Super Typhoon Bavi is now exiting the region to the west,” the

National Weather Service Guam said in its final advisory for Bavi.

At 7 p.m., Bavi was located 150 miles northwest of Guam and 160 miles west of Saipan near 15.1N and 143.3E. It was moving west-northwest (300 degrees) at 13 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph.

“I secured all the windows so water won't come in and the wind won't break it. Put all outside stuff in the safe area. Tied everything and put hollow blocks on top,” said Lolit Enriquez of Sinajana.

“Since we always have typhoons, I think all of us got used to this practice. Our mayor, Robert Hoffman, always sends us reminders and updates on the neighborhood chat group," she said as she prays for prompt return of her power and water services.

Several parts of the island remain without power and several residents are using their back-up generators.

At 10 a.m., Guam transitioned to COR 4 while the Joint Region Marianas and its installations entered an active recovery phase.

The National Weather Service, Weather Forecast Office Guam, has canceled the typhoon warning for Guam.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero led a government team during an initial windshield assessment to evaluate damage, identify hazards and begin restoration efforts, the Joint Information Center said.

"Joint Task Force - Micronesia, as the Department of War’s supported command for Defense Support of Civil Authorities in the region, is actively coordinating with federal, territorial, and local partners to ensure a rapid and effective response if requested," the information center said.

Joint Region Marianas and its installations have returned to Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4 following the completion of initial recovery operations and damage assessments after Super Typhoon Bavi.

The transition to all-clear condition begins the return of military installations to their normal readiness condition, allowing installation commanders to safely resume operations and reopen facilities and services as conditions permit.

While normal operations are resuming, some facilities and services will require additional time to reopen due to storm impacts and operational requirements.

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The Guam Power Authority said its power restoration process has made some progress in its post-typhoon recovery.

A total of 17 feeders/circuits are partially energized today of the 67 distribution

feeders/circuits. Of the 30 total major GPA substations, 25 critical substations are energized, generating 255 MW system capacity. Its solar farms are online, supporting 41 MW load as of 3 p.m. today.

"Initial priorities of our GPA crews include working on transmission lines to energize all substations and address water well issues," GPA said.

The Guam Waterworks Authority said as of 8 p.m., 73 wells are online and on generator power.

The Ugum Surface Water Treatment Plant is back online and operating on generator power. GWA and the Guam Power Authority are making assessments to address power issues affecting water and wastewater services.

GWA is aware of areas experiencing low to no water pressure in Agana Heights, Barrigada, Chalan Pago-Ordot, Dededo, Mangilao, Maina, Mongmong-Toto-Maite, Nimitz Hill, Sinajana, Talofofo, Yigo and Yona. 

Parts of Agana Heights, Sinajana and Yigo have been restored. As system adjustments are being performed to restore pressure, customers are reminded that outages and periods of low to no pressure will occur during the restoration process as adjustments are made at wells, pump stations, and reservoirs to respond to power loss, fluctuations, refueling, or generator maintenance.  

GWA is preparing water tankers and flextanks for deployment in areas experiencing low to no water pressure.

GWA’s Utility Compliance Lab has begun sampling points in the distribution system that have been restored. Results will be available in 24 hours and will be reported to the public. As more of the distribution system is restored, more points will be sampled, tested and reported.

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