Transcript
Emergency management authorities in the Federated States of Micronesia are hoping damage assessments being conducted in the cyclone affected states of Yap and Chuuk will be able to identify further needs for the relief effort.
The Office of Environment and Emergency Managment's Director Andrew Yatilman told Koroi Hawkins the assessments and the distribution of emergency relief supplies are being carried out simultaneously.
ANDREW YATILMAN: We are assisting or supplementing the efforts of the state of Yap, delivering water and food to the affected communities. For the state of Chuuk the same thing is happening and we have two of our patrol boats, one is in Chuuk doing, assisting with transporting to those outlying islands. Then we have another patrol boat in Yap. So while they are delivering they are also doing damage assessment at the same time.
KOROI HAWKINS: And do you have enough supplies or do you need more?
AY: Well the challenge right now is, in Yap the local commercial businesses or the businesses only have a handful of let's say rice and water and other commodities that are needed to be given to those people who need it and same as Chuuk. There are limited businesses there that have rice and water and other things that we need. So if we continue to take from those places then we have, we are going to create our own disaster in terms of making people suffer if, you know, the stores run out of commodities. So what we are trying to do is we are trying to supplement that by also sending food and water items from Pohnpei, until the next arrival of the commercial cargo vessels which we understand are arriving either over the weekend or early next week.
KH: And what would be your biggest priority needs in terms of additional support?
AY: Right now at the moment what is critically needed in some of the places that have lost their roofs so we need priority needs for shelter. We also need for Chuuk we need electricity to be up and running. And also that the sewage system is also working properly so that it doesn't create any health problems. And also we are looking at the one challenge that we have is transportation also because we are trying to move goods from the centres to the outlying islands. So that is a challenge and we also need to be able to look a the basic needs of the people who are affected. Nutrition is a priority also for us here.
