No Reported Deaths or Injuries in Yap As of Yet
Guam – After killing five people in Chuuk State Maysak which is now a super typhoon went on to hit Yap state in the FSM. The Ulithi atoll group and the island of FAIS had it the worst as the super typhoon passed nearest to them in fact part of the eye wall made a direct pass over Ulithi.
National Weather Service forecaster Patrick Chen says the outer southern eye wall of super typhoon Maysak passed directly over the Ulithi Atoll which is a group of outer islands in Yap state last night at about midnight. The good news is the outer southern eye wall did not contain the strongest winds of the super typhoon which means Ulithi was spared the 160 mph sustained winds of this system. However the Ulithi atoll which contains about 4 inhabited islands probably received 100 mph winds with gusts up to 125. Also the island of Fais in Yap state probably got 85-95 mph winds gusting to up to 115 mph. The island of Yap itself did not get any typhoon force winds.
Manny Hechanova the associate director of Telecommunication and Distance Education Operation (TADEO) of the University of Guam has been able to communicate with some of these outer islands via radio. Hechanova tells PNC that the island of Mogmog on Ulithi reports no injuries and is only reporting damage to roofs and fruit trees. There has been no communication with the islands of Asor, Falalop, and Federai which are three other island on the Ulithi atoll. Hechanova believes that these islands may have taken down their antennas as they often do prior to a storm and those antennas may not be back up yet.
Relief efforts for Chuuk and Yap are underway. According to FSM PIO Marz Akapito, FSM president Emmanuel Mori has declared a state of emergency for Chuuk state where five people where killed by typhoon Maysak. It’s estimated that 80-95 percent of the houses in Chuuk have been destroyed by Maysak. The FSS Independence has been dispatched to Chuuk state and the FSS Palikir will leave Pohnpei tomorrow night(Thurs) for Yap state.
Meanwhile Senator Mike San Nicolas is accepting donations for relief efforts to help those who may have been affected by typhoon Maysak.
