Tripler doctors respond
to Micronesian disaster

Surgeons will treat victims of
Chata'an's landslides in Chuuk

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Associated Press

CHUUK, Federated States of Micronesia >> Surgeons from Tripler Army Medical Center are expected to arrive in Chuuk today to help treat landslide victims, officials said.

Four critically injured victims, including a child, arrived in Hawaii yesterday for further medical treatment, said Tom Cane, a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman who is on Guam.

Tropical Storm Chata'an, which later developed into a typhoon, dumped heavy rains on Chuuk on July 2, causing more than 30 landslides that buried hundreds of homes on the island. The death toll stands at 47, though many more people remain missing, officials said.

Twenty Air Force civil engineers stationed in Hawaii arrived in Chuuk on Thursday and are expected to stay for about 30 days, said Air Force spokeswoman Celena Lea'l. The engineers will help residents connect generators, rebuild homes, clear roads and "get back on their feet."

Teams from FEMA arrived in Chuuk, formerly known as Truk, last week to help hospital officials assess the injured and assist the Ayuda Foundation, a humanitarian and medical aid organization that initially responded to the disaster.

Carlotta Leon Guerrero, co-executive director of Ayuda, said the organization welcomes the arrival of the teams from Hawaii.

"Chuuk is very relieved," Leon Guerrero said.

Ayuda can now send Guam doctors and nurses to Chuuk's outer islands, where many victims have yet to be treated, Leon Guerrero said.

Leon Guerrero said volunteer teams could fly to Chuuk as early as this week and could spend up to 10 days in the outer islands.

Ayuda is working with Continental Micronesia and the Guam Medical Society to coordinate the medical relief aid and control potential outbreaks of diseases, including cholera, said Nachsa Siren, director of Chuuk's Department of Health.

Siren said mud and debris from the landslides contaminated the ground water. The island also faces potential diseases because of inadequate and, in some cases, nonexistent sewage services.