Power lines went down due to “heavy vegetation,” causing blackouts in Feeders 4 and 7, and Kiyas 1 and 2, Commonwealth Utilities Corp power division operation manager and spokesman Gary Camacho said.
The damage to CUC facilities was “manageable,” and employees conducted repair work immediately, he added.
Kiya 1 covers As Terlaje, Northern Marianas College, the Botanical Garden, portions of Fina Sisu, lower Dandan, upper Dandan, Isley Field and Kanat Tabla.
Kiya 2 includes As Lito, portions of Fina Sisu, Koblerville, As Gonno, San Antonio and Afetnas, portions of Chalan Kanoa and Chalan Piao.
Feeder 7 consists of Lower Base, Tanapag, Achugao, San Roque, As Matuis and Marpi while Feeder 4 comprises Lower Base, Sadog Tasi, Capital Hill, Kagman and portions of Papago to the Botanical Garden.
There’s a primary line at the Dandan baseball field that went down, and other transformer issues were also experienced as the storm was in progress, Camacho said.
Some power lines were hit by falling trees and branches, he added.
Deteriorated hardware in the distribution lines could not withstand the strong winds and broke down, he said.
CUC’s hot line received several calls from community members inquiring about the power outages, he added.
“We’re happy that we were able to rectify the problem.”
As of press time, CUC had yet to restore power supply to some of the affected areas, but Camacho said they would complete the repair work.
On Tinian, CUC deputy director Edward Quichocho said there was no damage to facilities reported from the field.
He said they did not experience any power or water interruption.
“We’re all good here.”
CUC’s water and wastewater division also reported no damage in its facilities but some areas were affected by water interruption due to the loss of power supply, said Mariano Iglecias, CUC operation manager for water and wastewater.
As of 12:52 p.m. yesterday, 95 percent of the water and waste water facilities had been inspected, including water level and water pressure, he added.
Iglecias urged members of the community to continue observing water conservation.
