HUNDREDS of people from low-lying areas on Saipan trooped to various public schools designated as temporary shelters while typhoon Chataan passed through the Marianas on Friday.
At Garapan Elementary School, eight classrooms housed over 80 people as their homes located near Beach Road were battered by strong winds.
Carlos Tupulei and six of his family members relocated to the school as early as Thursday night because their house in Garapan is near the beach. His relatives, the Romolor family, also went with them.
Tupulei said they usually go to the nearest government designated shelter during typhoon conditions to protect their children.
“We’re not really scared. But we’re thinking about the safety of our small children,” he said. The Tupuleis have three children below five years old.
Bill Lieto, the maintenance manager of GES and the school’s designated shelter manager, said their classrooms are always used in cases of calamities.
Lieto said the families usually stay at their designated classrooms only for a few days. They are provided with water and power, if available. They can also use the TV which are found in each of the classrooms. But as soon as the typhoon is over, they must immediately leave the school.
Five families consisting of at least 33 people stayed at Oleai Elementary School on Friday. There was no water and power supply at the time, however.
William S. Reyes Elementary School, which was expecting evacuees, did not have one as of noon Friday. WSR was also a designated evacuation center.
Chataan, the first typhoon to hit the Marianas this year, was declared out of the Saipan zone at 1 p.m. on Friday.
Traffic momentarily stopped on Beach Road when a huge flame tree collapsed on the road Friday morning.
