By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
THE Department of Public Lands, in coordination with several regulatory agencies, is working to reopen Managaha by late May or early June, DPL Secretary Sixto Igisomar said Thursday.
Managaha remains temporarily closed due to environmental and safety concerns following Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
Igisomar said DPL rangers conducted an assessment a week after the storm’s landfall and found fallen trees, dead birds, severe beach erosion, and significant sand shifting along the island’s northeast side.
“The public has been urging DPL to reopen Managaha,” he said. “We can only do so after it has been cleared for safety and biohazard concerns. We ask for the public’s patience as we work to ensure proper debris removal using the appropriate equipment and after receiving clearance from regulatory agencies.”
DPL will begin a coordinated cleanup operation this week with CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the Department of Public Safety, Fish and Wildlife, the Historic Preservation Office, and the Chief Aghurubw Foundation.
Managaha is considered a sacred site for many Refaluwasch/Carolinian families. It is the resting place of Chief Aghurubw, the master navigator who led Carolinians from Satawal to Saipan in the early 1800s after a devastating typhoon.
Igisomar said the goal is to reopen the island “by the end of May or early June,” depending on the progress of cleanup efforts and regulatory clearance.
He added that the storm surge caused major sand displacement, exposing a previously unseen World War II pillbox on the island’s southeast side. “The WWII entrenchment had been buried under five to six feet of sand and is now exposed,” he said.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
