Post-Sinlaku recovery tasks continue; Donations to Ayuda boost relief efforts
- Admin
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Disaster recovery efforts and relief assistance continued to pour into communities affected by Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which pounded Chuuk, Guam and the Northern Marianas in mid-April.
Sinlaku, a Category 5 storm, left massive destruction in Chuuk and the CNMI, which are facing a long road to recovery. Guam is still assessing the extent of damage from the storm.
Local and federal agencies, as well as the private sector, have mobilized relief efforts in affected communities.
The Division of Homelessness Assistance and Poverty Prevention of the Department of Public Health and Social Services is deploying food commodity distributions at multiple locations across Guam to reach households affected by Sinlaku.
Food assistance is prioritized for households affected by food loss, including those receiving SNAP, Medicaid, MIP, or with limited resources. DPHSS will make every effort to serve those in need.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service is providing additional SNAP food replacement assistance for eligible households.
The food loss waiver is for SNAP households that lost food purchased with EBT benefits due to the typhoon.
To apply, the SNAP head of household or an authorized representative must complete and sign a food loss waiver affidavit, which will be accepted from May 11 to 14. Download the form from dphss.guam.gov, complete and sign it, then email it tosnapfoodloss@dphss.guam.gov“We know this has been a very difficult time. This extra food help is one small way we continue to care for one another,” said Theresa C. Arriola, DPHSS director.
Donations to Ayuda Foundation boost relief efforts
Guam families and businesses are showing up en force to help their island neighbors in the CNMI and in Chuuk in the wake of Sinlaku. Several are digging deep with substantial financial donations to the Ayuda Foundation, which has, for 30 years, assisted Guam and the region with disaster relief efforts.
The family of the late Alfred and Diana Ysrael, prominent business owners on Guam for decades, donated $30,000 to Ayuda on May 7.
Jude Baker noted that his family’s donation was made in honor of his wife Donna’s late parents. “Our donation is made in honor of them and their love of the people of Guam and the Mariana Islands,” said Baker.
Businesswoman Anna Kao presented Ayuda with its first relief donation - a check for $20,000.
“Ayuda could not be first on the ground with disaster relief as we have been for decades without people like the Bakers and Mrs. Kao,” said Carlotta Leon Guerrero, executive director of Ayuda.
Guam Telephone Authority has donated $25,000, the Bank of Guam has given us $20,000 and SPPC $10,000.
Leon Guerrero. She noted that partnerships with Matson Navigation, Triple J, Pacific Trucking Group, and United Airlines have also substantially bolstered relief efforts.
“We’ve filled 15 containers with food, clothing, tools, you name it - from the people of Guam, and Matson is shipping these containers to Saipan and Chuuk,” said Leon Guerrero.
“United Airlines helped us get 1,000 mosquito nets to Chuuk, and Triple J and Pacific Trucking have been essential to our efforts with moving donations and logistics coordination. Ayuda could not be the guerrilla force for relief efforts that we are without all of these companies,” she said.
Leon Guerrero said other individuals and companies have also donated, and that Ayuda is grateful for every dollar.
“The money we receive helps us to purchase needed medical kits and supplies and other items that people cannot donate individually,” said Leon Guerrero.
Storm debris cleanup begins
Saipan -The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin typhoon debris removal next week to restore access to transportation routes and support long-term rebuilding on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
Officials instructed residents to sort their storm debris and place it safely at the roadside, or right-of-way, for pickup.
“Our teams are on the ground and fully committed to supporting the communities across CNMI during this critical time,” said Lt. Col. Adrian Biggerstaff, commander, USACE Recovery Field Office located in Saipan.
“Working shoulder-to-shoulder with FEMA and our local CNMI partners, our priority is to safely and efficiently clear the hazards left in the wake of Typhoon Sinlaku, so these communities can recover," he added.
The debris removal mission focuses on the sorting, collection and proper disposal of storm-related debris from public rights-of-way, critical infrastructure sites, and local neighborhoods to support recovery from Sinlaku.
A village-by-village schedule will be announced soon through the FEMA-CNMI Joint Information Center.
To help crews work as quickly as possible, residents are asked to sort debris into the categories below and place it along the public right-of-way, ensuring it does not block the roadway, cover fire hydrants, or utility meters.
Separation categories:
Vegetative debris (e.g., leaves, branches, logs)
Large appliances (e.g., refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves)
Construction & demolition debris (e.g., drywall, lumber, roofing materials)
Sheet metal debris (e.g., sheet metal, tin)
Electronics (e.g., TVs, computers, radios, printers, solar panels)
Household hazardous materials, (e.g., paint, oils, batteries, pesticides, chemicals)
Municipal solid waste and regular household trash, including bagged trash, food waste and paper goods will not be picked up.
Residents are advised to continue using existing municipal or contracted trash services, as applicable, for regular household garbage.