Return-Path: <ahadley@cup.portal.com>
X-Origin: The Portal System (TM)
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.medlib-l
Date:         Thu, 8 Oct 1992 02:25:16 PDT
From:         ahadley@CUP.PORTAL.COM
Subject:      Guam's typhoon experience

Here's a quick (?) overview of Guam's recent typhoon.  For more info write
me at ahadley@cup.portal.com.

Guam is a US territory in the western Pacific (13.3N 144.5E).  About 30
miles long and 4-8 miles wide.  "Where America's Day Begins".  A tourist
mecca for Japanese (about 800,000 this year), with a large US military
presence.  We live in "typhoon alley" with more storms in our area a year
than the Atlantic has in a decade (military weather people LOVE to be
assigned here).

Typhoon Omar (28 AUG 92) was a rather exciting event - even for the rather
jaded typhoon watchers on Guam.

We didn't have the dramatic damage that Florida had; partially because we
have a "small" typhoon or three every year which cleans out the greenery
and old or weak buildings and roofs.

According to a sign I saw at a Red Cross fund raiser Guam raised $1 mil-
lion from the local people ($7.52 per person - compared to 29 cents per
person in the states), and they paid out over $3,100,000.  The storm
effected 5,706 families (I guess that is the number that applied to them
for help) and Red Cross assisted 5,396 families.  Before the storm there
were 35,223 housing units (houses, apartments, condos, etc.) of which 906
were destroyed.  (The population in 1990 was 133,152.)

One of the strangest things about Omar was that it arrived in the daytime.
Most storms seem to come after dark so it was different to actually see
what was happening.  Depending on who you speak to the winds were 120 mph
sustained winds with gusts to 150 mph or 150 sustained with gusts to 180.
The Joint (Navy/Air Force) Typhoon Center (JTWC) says it was 120/150 - but
since their radar, wind speed indicators, and antennas (each of which was
rated to at least 150 mph sustained winds) were all blown away most people
depend on their experience with other storms and wind indicators and think
it was more like 150 sustained with higher gusts.

This storm was also different in that the eye (center) came directly over
the island.  -- One of my favorite stories was listening to the talk radio
announcer talk to the JTWC spokesman at 5:30pm and have the spokesman say
"At 5:30pm the storm is centered on the Hilton Hotel on Tumon Bay."

I live a little south of the center of the island behind some hills so the
wind at my house was much lower - probably not much above 100 mph.
sustained.  My house is concrete and had no damage, just the trees and
utilities.  Most of the houses in my neighborhood are also concrete and so
came through with little damage although one wooden one was totally
destroyed and another lost its tin roof.

The biggest problem for me (and most of my friends) was how long it took
to get water (14 days for me - and most everyone) and electricity (7 days
for me - at 6 weeks some people still don't have any).  It's water that is
really the most important to my sense of well being (as well as health).
Even if I have to buy drinking water as long as I can shower and flush my
toilets I'm ok.  Being without electricity is just a pain in the neck -
you barbecue or eat out, hunt out friends or laundromats to wash your
clothes, use flashlights or lanterns to read by, go to bed early.  You
relearn to be creative.

I work at a hospital so going to work had wonderful attractions - water!!
electricity! air conditioning!! HOT food!  My libraries (I have two - a
medical and a general "public") came through fine.  I had about a quart of
water on the floor that had dripped down the wall from a window and that
was it.

The other libraries on island public, school, university, law, came
through ok.  The university and law libraries flooded but there was little
damage.  Most of the school libraries also had some small damage/flooding
but nothing dramatic except one (a private boy's high school) which was
totally destroyed.

Very few people were hurt in/by the storm.  Most of those were self-
inflicted (going out during high winds, falling off things while putting
up shutters, being hit by flying debris, etc.).  Some people were almost
hurt in their apartments when a building crane fell through the roof but
it missed them.

One of the many surreal events was that the telephones (which until
recently were horrendous) worked throughout the storm and afterwards
whenever the batteries were charged.  The morning after the storm with the
winds still above 50 mph I received a telephone call from Florida, where
they were barely done with their storm.

The telephone cables were buried during the recent upgrading so the storm
barely caused any damage to the system.  There has been a lot of talk
about burying the power cables too since the storm.  Unfortunately our
water all comes from wells so if there is no electricity at the wells
there is no water in the system so this is a big topic right now.

After the storm about 3,000 people were living in school shelters (later a
tent city) but they are now down to about 800.  Their biggest problem is
that we had a housing shortage before the storm (about 2,000 units) so now
we REALLY have a shortage.

Some of the hotels had dramatic storm damage as they are right on the
water and were at the center of the storm.  A few of them closed for a few
days but they are open again.  One of them had a "tornado" created in its
parking lot and a number of cars were thrown around like toys as if they
were in a Terminator movie.  A stretch limo ended up with two cars lying
on top of it.  Interesting to see but I'm glad it wasn't mine.

We are almost back to normal now and getting ready for our next storm.

Alice E. Hadley
US Naval Hospital, Guam - ahadley@cup.portal.com
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU