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U.S. Pacific territory will need help to recover from super typhoon

By CALEB JONES and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, Associated Press
Published: October 26, 2018, 9:22pm

Residents of a U.S. territory in the Pacific ravaged by Super Typhoon Yutu are hopeful for help from the federal government as they dig out from damage including crumbled concrete houses, smashed cars and fallen utility poles.

Used to riding out monster storms, about 50,000 people living in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands expect to be without electricity and running water for months after getting slammed by the strongest storm to hit the U.S. this year.

Officials toured villages in Saipan and saw cars crushed under a collapsed garage, the ground ripped clean of vegetation and people injured by spraying glass and other debris.

As of Friday local time, there was one storm-related death confirmed.

A military plane was bringing food, water, tarps and other supplies, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman David Gervino said.

The agency had already significant water and food in place because it had stored more than 220,000 liters of water and 260,000 shelf-stable meals at a distribution center on nearby Guam to prepare for Typhoon Mangkhut, which struck last month.

Mangkhut’s effects turned out to be not as bad as expected, so those supplies are still available.

The agency is focused on helping restore power, opening sea and air ports and ensuring cell towers can operate on emergency power until utility power returns, Gervino said.

One change that the agency adopted because of Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm that struck Puerto Rico last year, is that it has created task forces to tackle different areas of focus in emergencies, such as transportation, communications, food and water and energy and fuel.

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