HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A few emergency shelters in northern Guam have filled up quickly, and Astumbo Elementary School was already at capacity at half past midnight on Wednesday.
Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares said that Astumbo had filled up around 12:30 a.m., with a large number of residents in the area looking to find cover as Supertyphoon Mawar approaches Guam.
“There’s a lot of people seeking shelter, they have still been coming in,” she told The Guam Daily Post.
Astumbo was so far the only northern shelter that has been closed, according to Adelup spokesperson Krystal Paco-San Agustin. The Dededo shelter has a max capacity of 287 residents.
Machananao Elementary School in Yigo, with a total capacity of 334, was not yet filled up, according to Paco-San Agustin, but reached 70% of its capacity according to numbers released around 11 p.m. Tuesday.
There are a large number of wood and tin structures in the vicinity of the school, according to Yigo Mayor Tony Sanchez, especially from the Gill-Baza and Zero Down subdivisions.
Forecasters with the National Weather Services have advised that as Mawar threatens to make a direct and catastrophic sweep over the island, any resident who is not in a reinforced concrete structure is taking a “substantial risk.”
The latest report released showed Wettengel Elementary School and Maria A. Ulloa Elementary School at 8% and 33% respectively as of 11 p.m. Tuesday. In Yigo, Upi Elementary School was at just 9% capacity.
There were a total of 857 people seeking shelter as of 11 p.m., out of a total emergency shelter capacity of 3938. Though the numbers have shifted around since, residents from the northern villages were nearly three-quarters of the total population needing shelter.
M.U. Lujan Elementary School in Yona was closed due to generator issues, not capacity limits. Residents who were previously at the campus were relocated to George Washington High School.
A sign outlining rules for emergency shelters is on display at the George Washington High School Tuesday in Mangilao.
