[NevadaARES] Fw: GUAM SUPERTYPHOON PONGSONA

[Paul Cavnar]

SHARES SITREP FROM GUAM, VIA SATERN

RELAY BY AFA5JW

- Jay

-----Original Message-----
From: WW9E@aol.com [mailto:WW9E@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 8:34 AM
To: WW9E@aol.com
Subject: GUAM SUPERTYPHOON PONGSONA


This is a report from Doctor Emil Pearson, one of our SATERN members who
relayed this from a MARS station on a Shares net. The Salvation Army has
personnel in Guam. For your information:

Island endures 150 mph winds

Injuries, damage reported By Steve Limtiaco, and Theresa Merto
slimtiaco@guampdn.com; Pacific Daily News.

Guam felt the full force of Supertyphoon Pongsona
yesterday, which intensified to a 150 mph supertyphoon as it blew across the
island before hitting Rota.

Pongsona's eye crossed the northern end of Guam, but the entire island was
hit by at least part of the storm's eye wall,which contained the strongest
winds. Gusts reached 184 mph by late afternoon, according to the Joint
TyphoonWarning Center.

Gale-force wind and rain started in the early afternoon and continued into
the evening as the storm moved northwest at about 12 mph.

As of 8 p.m., the storm's eye was 50 miles north-northwest of Guam, and 10
miles west of Rota.

"Rota is getting it, and it's more intense than what we had," said Sarah
Prior, forecaster at the National Weather Service's Guam office. "The eye
wall looks like it's right on top of them."

Officials had little information about the extent of the storm's damage.

Because the storm moved slowly, some parts of Guam endured much more wind
than others, Prior said.

"It went really slow and we never got out of the eye wall, at least in the
central and southern parts" of Guam, she said. "If we'd gotten the eye, it
wouldn't have been so bad."

Wind speeds were expected to slow to 40 to 60 mph this morning, with gusts
to 70 mph.

The eye of the supertyphoon passed over parts of Dededo,including Astumbo
and Las Palmas, Latte Heights and other northern locations.

Eight people were reported missing after a fire at the tank farm operated by
Mobil Oil  Micronesia, but they were later accounted for, according to
officials.

Drydock

A floating drydock at the port was loose because of the storm, but not
adrift, according to the governor's communications director, John Ryan.

The "Big Blue" AFDB-8 dry dock, which was towed from Hawaii to the ship
repair facility in 1999, was banging against Bravo Wharf, according to Ryan.

There was extensive flooding in several villages, forcing some to wade or
swim from their homes to safety.

Travel was difficult, even after the strongest winds subsided, because the
island's major roadways were blocked by water, downed or low-hanging power
lines, utility poles, boulders and other debris.

Much of Marine Drive in Hag�t�a was flooded from curb to curb, and several
cars had stalled.

Flooding on southbound Route 4, just before Pago Bay, was heavier than
during Typhoon Chata'an in July, and the road was impassable in both
directions, even for four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Several people reportedly were injured at the Outrigger Guam Resort, near
the upper-level floor where travel agent offices are located, according to
eyewitness accounts.

The metal security gate that separated the hotel from the entertainment and
restaurant complex next door fell during the early part of the storm,
causing injuries, and windows at the travel agencies blew in, cutting people
with glass.

SGD AAR7AL/RCS SHARES CENTRAL

BT

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