8 Oct 2014

Red Cross helps CNMI typhoon victims

3:19 pm on 8 October 2014

15 families in the Northern Marianas are being assisted by the local chapter of the Red Cross in the aftermath of Typhoon Vongfong which hit the islands on Monday.

10 families on Saipan are being helped, four on Tinian, and one family on Rota.

The Red Cross is providing families with kits and tarpaulins to help them clean up their homes after flooding and patch damaged roofs.

The typhoon left more than 220 people seeking refuge at emergency shelters on the three islands.

Initial assessment by the government show no injuries and only minor property damage.

An official with the Department of Homeland Security in neighbouring Guam, Genna Gaminde says nobody was seriously hurt by the typhoon.

But she says they are still assessing the full impact.

"We did receive some downed debris and a lot of flooding in our northern areas. The storm hit roughly in the northern part of the island, especially on Anderson Airforce Base but other than that we still are doing our assessments now, even though it's over."

Genna Gaminde says it appears some areas may need an upgrade of drainage systems after being swamped by the flooding.