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Chata’an Leaves Trail of Damage in Guam
Written by Stephanie Kriner, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
July 8, 2002 —
American Red Cross damage assessment teams in flood-ravaged Guam have described a scene of massive destruction after Typhoon Chata’an slammed the Pacific island with 110-mph winds and flooding rains on Friday (July 5) and Saturday. The storm left in its wake downed power lines and poles, trees pulled from their roots, tin roofs wrapped around fences and houses, and homes surrounded by murky floodwaters, according to the team.
Nearly 1,800 people fled their homes as the storm approached. Many of them stayed in American Red Cross shelters throughout the weekend, waiting for the rains that lingered after the storm to abate, for rivers to recede and for blocked roads to be cleared.
Preliminary damage assessment revealed that 1,348 homes were affected by the storm, about 40 percent of them nearly or completely destroyed.
President Bush declared parts of the U.S. territory a disaster area on Saturday, freeing funds for federal aid so local governments could remove debris and provide emergency protective measures.
Philippines Also Slammed with Typhoon-Related Flooding
Elsewhere in the Pacific, Chata’an exacerbated the effects of another typhoon, Rammasun, which brought heavy rains to the Philippines, although it failed to make landfall there.
The two storms brought deadly flooding to the Philippines, where at least 17 people were killed, including three South Korean tourists who drowned after their boat capsized in stormy seas, according to media reports. Two other Koreans were missing, officials said.
The downpour drenched a wide area of the main island of Luzon, including Manila.
Seven people had been killed in landslides or by drowning since the height of the rains on Saturday. The disaster forced more than 14,000 people to flee their homes.
Rammasun swept across the Korean peninsula on Saturday causing four deaths. The storm faded after turning into a tropical storm on Saturday night. However, the more destructive Chata’an put officials in South Korea on alert as the storm continued to move northwest after hitting Guam.
The eye of Chata’an was northeast of Batanes on Monday and packing winds of 112 mph with gusts up to 133 mph. The storm was expected to reach the Japanese island of Okinawa by Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, a low pressure area west of Batanes, about 428 miles north of Manila, has developed into a tropical depression over the South China Sea. It was 350 miles southwest of Taipei, packing winds of 34 mph, and was forecast to move east-northeast at 9 mph.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. The Red Cross also supplies nearly half of the nation's lifesaving blood. This, too, is made possible by generous voluntary donations. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. You can make a secure online credit card donation or call 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-435-7669) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Or you may send your donation to your local Red Cross or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. To donate blood, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543), or contact your local Red Cross to find out about upcoming blood drives.
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