Life Goes on for Guam Storm Victims

Written by Carrie Martin, Special to RedCross.org

GUAM, Jan. 6, 2003 — During the last days of December the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed tents to Guam shelter residents whose homes suffered severe damage as a result of Typhoon Pongsona. During the next few weeks, nearly 3,300 families will make the transition out of shelters, setting up white, dome-like structures in backyards throughout Guam.

Storm victims Tanya and Richard Rolinski with their son are shown inside a tent provided by FEMA. After losing their house to the destruction of Supertyphoon Pongsona in December, the tent is now their new home.

Life goes on for storm victims as the tents, which look more like small versions of Disney’s Epcot Center than federally issued shelters, crop up like mushrooms throughout area neighborhoods.

What once looked like ghost towns of abandoned homes riddled with debris are now rehabilited communities bustling with activity as they struggle to begin anew.

Committed to recovery, young and old alike are working hard to make their canvas homes away from home comfortable and livable while repairs are made to their actual houses.

For the Rolinski family, the transition back home has not been easy. A young couple in their early thirties with two small children, Tanya and Richard (who live with Tanya’s parents) are finding it difficult to adjust to living in a tent.

The family’s battered house is located at the corner of a busy intersection near the Red Cross service center in Dededo where the inside of their living room is now fully visible from the street corner.

"We suffered total damage to our home this time around,” said Tanya, who just finished repairs from damage inflicted six months ago by a previous typhoon. “This time we’re going to tear it down and rebuild with concrete.”

To do this, Tanya and her family will depend on assistance provided by FEMA. In the meantime, she has already received emergency assistance from the American Red Cross in the form of travelers’ checks, which she is using to purchase items essential to fulfilling the family’s immediate needs. She expects to live in the tent for at least the next six months.

The remains of the Rolinski family's house in Dededo, Guam. More than 3,000 families were displace during the storm because of damaged homes and are now living in tents.

Inside the Rolinski family’s tent, the white plastic sheeting creates bright living quarters in the warm afternoon sun. Salvaged items, including a bed with clean sheets, stuffed animals, ceramic religious figures, and a kitchen rug, look out of place on the dirt floor. Red Cross comfort kits, filled with personal hygiene items for each family member, are neatly stacked in the corner ready for use.

The family is looking forward to rebuilding and transitioning back into a new concrete home, but they remain optimistic about their temporary quarters, listing improvements to be made to tent.

“I’m going to put something dark over the tent,” said Richard, “so it’s not so bright in the morning…and put down boards to make a floor.”

The Rolinski’s are just one of 12,000 families who have received direct financial assistance from the American Red Cross. As the disaster relief operation in Guam continues, the Red Cross expects to assist another 15,000 more with emergency help.

Determined that a future typhoon won’t again endanger their small family, the Rolinski’s will spend the next several months dreaming of their sturdier new home from their tent in the back yard.

You can help victims of this and thousands of other national disasters 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. Click here to make a secure online donation.

If you'd like to donate your time to the Red Cross, check out our volunteer information to find out how you can become part of a disaster response team.

Related Stories:

• Guam Relief Work Brings Satisfaction to Victims and Volunteers
• Red Cross Volunteer, Benedictine Monk, Spends Second Christmas in Guam
• Red Cross Distributes Comfort Kits to Guam Shelters
• Holiday Spirit Endures in Guam Despite Destruction
• Hope Prevails Amid Complex Recovery in Guam
• Supertyphoon Pongsona Leaves Guam in Shambles
• Relief Workers Arrive in Guam, Island in Shambles
• Guam Slammed by Supertyphoon, Relief en Route
• Typhoon Thrashes Guam, Micronesia
• Chata’an Leaves Trail of Damage in Guam