By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
DELEGATE Kimberlyn King-Hinds said early assessments across Tinian, Rota, and Saipan reveal catastrophic infrastructure damage from Super Typhoon Sinlaku, with repair costs already projected in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
King-Hinds, who visited all three islands shortly after arriving in the Commonwealth, said the storm lingered longer than previous typhoons and caused widespread structural failures that will require extensive federal support to rebuild.
On Tinian, she said the power plant sustained severe damage after the building housing the generators was destroyed, allowing water to soak the engines and control panels.
“The building that houses those generators is completely damaged,” she said. “Based on previous studies on replacement, costs could range from $30 million to $50 million.”
She added that the cost could rise because replacing an existing generation system requires environmental hazard mitigation and specialized engineering.
On Rota, King-Hinds said the port suffered some of the worst damage in the region.
“The dock has completely collapsed,” she said, noting that wave action and water intrusion created cracks and a large sinkhole beneath the surface. Heavy cranes can no longer safely operate on the compromised structure.
Based on her experience with port infrastructure, she said repairs could range from $100 million to $300 million, depending on design, materials, and the availability of specialized contractors.
King-Hinds is a former Commonwealth Ports Authority board chairwoman.
On Saipan, King-Hinds said the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport sustained major roof and HVAC damage.
“I was just on top of that roof this morning. It is completely damaged,” she said. “When it rains, we’re going to see significant leaks, with water coming through the terminals.”
She said the airport’s condition poses a direct threat to the CNMI’s tourism-dependent economy, making rapid repairs essential.
King-Hinds emphasized that these early figures are not final but illustrate the scale of the disaster.
“At the end of the day, we’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, if not up to a billion,” she said. “But I’m not an expert. We’ll wait for those with the expertise to complete the assessments.”
The delegate said federal teams are now conducting formal evaluations to determine the full extent of the damage and the funding required for long-term recovery.
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.
