DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Col. Terry Youngbluth, left, conferred with Brig. Gen. Ronald Johnson yesterday during a videoconference call at Fort Shafter's Emergency Operations Center.

Holiday mail flows
to storm-tossed Guam

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

After nearly a week and half, some of the Christmas mail is finally getting delivered on typhoon-ravaged Guam thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

That was one of the updates Brig. Gen. Ronald Johnson, commanding general of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division, received yesterday during a nearly hourlong video conference call from Guam.

"That will be a huge boost to morale on Guam," Johnson told his staff there.

"There a lot of Christmas presents in the pipeline."

More than 90 Army Corps personnel, including two dozen from Hawaii, have been on Guam since Supertyphoon Pongsona hit on Dec. 8 with winds up to 184 mph. It left Guam powerless and without water or phone service in many areas. President Bush has declared Guam and Rota in the nearby Northern Mariana Islands disaster areas.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency assigned the Corps nine missions, including providing emergency water and power, debris removal, temporary housing and logistic support, as well as assessing technical and infrastructure damage.

Three days after the typhoon, the Army Corps of Engineers was able to establish a video satellite communication link with the Emergency Operations Center.

Now each day Johnson can speak face to face to Lt. Col. David Press, commander of the Army Corps' Honolulu District and the on-site boss in Guam. That one-hour call usually takes place at noon and ties Johnson in with other Army Corps elements in Alaska, Japan, South Korea and San Francisco which may be called in for support.

Already, $7.3 million of the more than $18.4 million allocated for the typhoon relief effort has been spent on supplies like water; providing temporary housing and power; debris removal; technical assistance; and purchasing and transporting power generators.

Press reported that power is slowly being restored on Guam.

He said that 14 public schools are still being used as shelters.

In her report to the Guam emergency crews, Capt. Eliza Odom, operations officer, reported that 190,000 liters of bottled water have been delivered to Guam, with another 9,500 liters scheduled to be delivered Saturday.