20 Dec 2018

150 still at CNMI's Saipan evacuation centre two months after Yutu

5:06 pm on 20 December 2018

Nearly two months after Typhoon Yutu struck the Northern Marianas island, 150 people still remain in the evacuation centre on the island of Saipan.

Damage caused by Super Typhoon Yutu

Damage caused by Super Typhoon Yutu Photo: Mark Rabago

The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs said the 39 families remain because they have no home to return to after the category 5 storm demolished their houses in late October.

There are also some issues around power supply and access to medicine in some villages.

Meanwhile the local Red Cross said it had provided over $US2 million in financial assistance to nearly 5,000 families on Saipan and Tinian in the aftermath of Yutu.

The US Small Business Administration also said it had approved over 720 disaster loans amounting to over $US43 million in the aftermath of Yutu and Typhoon Mangkhut, which hit in September.

The SBA is a federal government agency that offers low-interest loans to those affected by natural disasters.

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