The Nightmare called Typhoon Sudal

I was living on the island of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia when I encountered my first super typhoon - this was a Category 4 typhoon AND the island was right in the storm’s eye!  It all began calmly enough when we were informed that there was an incoming typhoon.  This was nothing new to us as many typhoons come and go in the vicinity.  Typhoons did nothing but bring heavy rains and strong winds.  In fact I enjoyed typhoons because it made the temperatures cooler. 

So everyone on the island was going about doing their own business.  The company, who we rented our house from, came and boarded up our windows with plywood.  I made sure we had enough food and potable water.  I had two small children then, who were ages five and one, respectively, so I ensured that they had enough stuff to amuse themselves with, when the electricity went off.  Around lunch time, my husband called the house and told me to get our clothes ready for a few days because he was going to come and get me and the children to stay at the hotel.  He said that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Guam informed the hotel that the incoming typhoon was a huge one and to expect the worst. Hence, I packed up our stuff and he came and took the children and me to the hotel.

It was very different by the coast.  At the hotel, the guys were busy securing all our dive boats and most especially the brand new 140 ft reconverted Phinisi Schooner.  The water level was rising and the waves were getting bigger and stronger.  The rain was incessant and just poured down heavily from the heavens.  The room we were assigned to was facing the lagoon, I had a strange feeling and decided to move the children outside to the hotel’s lobby.  About 30 minutes later, I heard a loud cracking noise.  So one of the ladies from the front office and I went to investigate.  Sure enough, the waves were so high that they broke the window of the room we were staying at.  There was about a foot high of water in the room.  I got our personal belongings together, took my children and moved them to a room on the second floor.

The nightmare had just started.

Typhoon Sudal was the strongest typhoon to strike the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in about 50 years. Yap is one of the four administrative divisions of the FSM. The entire island, only 17 km (10 mi) in length, experienced typhoon force winds, and 90% of the structures were damaged or destroyed. Damage was most severe in southeastern Yap, where the eyewall struck and winds exceeded 185 km/h (115 mph), but the center of the typhoon passed south of the island.  (Wikipedia) 

Typhoon Sudal originally formed on April 2, 2004 out of a persistent area of convection east of the FSM. It moved mostly westward for the first week of its duration, with brief northerly and southwesterly turns. Sudal attained tropical storm status on April 5, and it gradually intensified into a typhoon, which is a tropical cyclone with winds of at least 119 km/h (74 mph) and is the equivalent of a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. On April 9, it passed just south of Yap, and shortly thereafter its peak winds were estimated at 240 km/h (150 mph). Later, Sudal moved to the northwest and eventually to the northeast, becoming an extratropical cyclone on April 16 and dissipating two days later.  (Wikipedia)

The following was issued by the office of the President of the FSM:

Palikir, POHNPEI (FSM Information Services): April 12, 2004 - A State of Emergency has been declared for Yap in the wake of typhoon Sudal's destruction to the State during the Easter weekend.

The Declarations issued by both the Governments of the State of Yap and the Federated States of Micronesia on April 9, states that effects of the typhoon have "cost extensive damages to public and private properties, food crops and private homes [...] and damages to the coastline areas."

The Government of the United States have also echoed the declaration and through its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), ordered federal disaster aid for the FSM to supplement response efforts underway for the state of Yap.

Typhoon Sudal hit Yap proper on Friday morning packing 132 mph winds, whipping wave heights of more than 35 feet. With the eye 33-miles off shore, typhoon Sudal battered the State for more than five hours.

The Preliminary Assessment Report of typhoon Sudal identifies the following as immediate priorities for the state of Yap:

Restore water supply of YSPSC, Southern water system and Tomil Gagil water system.
Distribute water to designated shelters and identify potable water source.
Assess, Ngulu, Ulithi, Fais and Rumung (water supply and crops)
Repair sewage leakage with Environmental Protection Agency.
Clear debris from roads
Repair designated shelters.

The report contained the following assessment of the damages to Yap proper:

1.    Water supply: Over 80% of people are without clean drinking water and although water is made available at the water treatment plant, it requires extensive boiling.

2.    Damage of Public utilities and properties: Over 90% of public utilities and public property were damaged leaving 80% of the villages without water and power.

3.    Damage to private properties: Over 90% of private homes were either damaged or destroyed with an estimate of over 900 people in shelters.

4.    Damages to coastal areas: Tidal surge caused devastation to almost all coastal areas

o    90% of homes in low lying coastal areas were either damaged or destroyed;

o    Seawalls in all coastal areas are either damaged or severely eroded.

5.    Crop damages: 90% plus of lowland and upland crops were completely destroyed.

6.    Health: The State Hospital sustained structural damages, severing pipelines and refrigeration system:

o    Dehydration has become a critical issue with the rapidly decreasing drinkable water;

o    Current health issues include common sickness and gastrointestinal problems;

o    No deaths from typhoon Sudal have been reported.

Oh it was like hell on earth after the typhoon finished razing the island.  It was the ONLY time in my life I had ever experienced anything like this.  We went back to our house after one week at the hotel.  Thank goodness our home was not damaged apart from the outside wall being stripped of its protective covering and a tree falling over in our yard.  There was no water for a few days and after that it was sporadic and rationed.  I remember the water coming out all muddy.  I cooked our meals outside on our grill.  At night my husband would hook up a single light bulb to a car battery so we could have some light.  We had a friend from Palau buy us a generator.  As he was going to Yap as part of the relief/recovery operations he was going to bring it with him.  When the generator arrived, we managed to have our fridge running and the washing machine!  Believe me, all these things we take for granted in life, I learned to enjoy and appreciate fully.  This experience with Sudal has humbled me and taught me how the fury of Mother Nature when unleashed can be so frightfully amazing.  I do not want to experience anything like this again.  But IF ever…I know I am prepared.

References:

Typhoon Sudal.  Wikipedia.  Retrieved 26 May, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Sudal

Typhoon Sudal leaves Yap in state of Emergency.  12 April, 2004.  Government of the Federated States of Micronesia.  Retrieved 26 Ma, 2011 from http://www.fsmgov.org/press/pr041204.htm