23 Sep 2009

CNMI authorities unsure when evacuation of 12 people will happen

7:38 am on 23 September 2009

The Northern Marianas emergency management office says it may take some time before they will evacuate 12 people from remote northern islands after a typhoon caused destruction there.

A family of six, including a newborn, was flown off Alamagan late last week on a US Navy helicopter after Super Typhoon Choi-Wan caused havoc on the island.

Eight people remain on the island, and four others on nearby Agrihan, which was also wrecked by the typhoon.

The emergency management office's deputy director Mark Pangelinan says it plans to charter a boat to evacuate the remaining victims, but it will take a while because there's a lengthy process to go through to hire it.