12.09.14 Tuesday

The island has largely recovered, except for communities in the southern and northeastern part of the island, where homes were collapsed by the winds and rain. Work is progressing and tonight I finished a grant (who would have thought I'd be grant writing) and submitted it to the Peace Corps. I am finishing a protocol for the early school children hemoglobin checks as well as a disaster preparedness plan. I justs read in my weather email alerts that we have another tropical storm near. As long as it drops the heat and humidity, I won't mind.

Sunday was an interesting day and I did something I have never done in my life. I went to Mass in the morning, then in the afternoon went to the Mass in the prison, then went with the group to visit the refugees for a third Mass. If that doesn't get me a gold star I don't know what will!

The prison is right by town center and has between 12 to 15 men. While women are criminals, too, they usually give them house arrest. The prison is also used as a holding area for psychiatric patients, usually men.

A few decorations are appearing for the holidays. This is in the lobby of Trader's Ridge.

This is the prison. As I was sitting there I was planning the escape - it did not seem to be too hard to  get out of there. But we are on a small island and there are not that many places to hide I guess. This is  Father John, a Jesuit and good cook. He speaks Yapese. Two others are prisoners.

The refugees now have much better shelter. But someone needs to make a decision on what to do with them. They remain friendly and polite but no doubt restless. Apparently the US Embassy is involved. Stay tuned.

Also, no word on what will become of  the fisherman from VietNam. They too  have been guests here for a while. I had to check some of both on Sunday and Monday. Father brought them some fresh fruit.

This is Father John and Agnes.

Agnes talking to the men to get them singing. I wonder what they are thinking. Some understand a reasonable amount of English, no doubt getting better here but with a Yapese accent.  They all attended Mass but I am willing to bet few are Christian. It is obvious they appreciate the visit from the priest, it must help them to know people care about their welfare. No doubt they feel lost, the longer  they stay here.

The young man in the orange shirt sang a song in English and Nepalese.

I have not seen my buddy Chocolate since the typhoon. A friend suggested that since he was old maybe he died, but that his last weeks were happy. I like that. He was happy. He received a lot of attention and food.

For a while there were no dogs anywhere but they are slowly back in town. Blondie is back and she gets her treats. There is a young one that has been on the trail, and Chocolate used to bark at him to keep him away from the  treats. He found me this morning and jumps and plays like a puppy, so I think he is young, He has a collar and will sit and give you his paw so of course he gets a treat. See his tail wagging. He eats right out of my hand, too. And he lets me pet him, something most dogs won't allow. Most of them are not treated well.

And there is Shorty, the other dogs pick on him but he is adorable. He, too, will eat from my hand but is skittish about petting.

Lots of boxes arrived with all kinds of  treats. So everyone should be really happy!

12.06.14 George. Sandra. Elan 43 and the Typhoon Ruby Hagupit meet at sea

Yesterday saw another sailboat in the bay, but really concerned since the typhoon just passed us. Had the opportunity to visit George and Sandra on their boat - Glenn from NZ helped them yesterday and was going to pick them up. So I went along ot meet them and see if I could help them in any way. Goerge and Sandra are from Austria and have been sailing around the world together. Seven years on the sea, off  and on, which seems to be the way some of the Europeans do it.

They had a series of serious misinformation that really jeopardized their lives. While in Fiji they were told to go north of the equator as it was passed typhoon season (not so!). They were going to sail to Palau, but as the storm gathered strength they sailed to Woleai, one of our outer islands. The people there told them they did not expect much of a storm, so George and Sandra headed towards Yap. Then they were caught in the middle of it. Their sails were shredded, the boat on its side taking in water twice, a line wrapped around their motor, George had to dive to cut the line in the middle of the typhoon, lost their dinghy, and they were low on fuel. A freighter leaving Yap was nearby and floated containers of fuel to them in a Styrofoam chest. Sandra was able to catch the line and hold on to it. Fortuantely a wave washed it up on the platform of the boat, otherwise she was afraid she was getting pulled into the sea. They were shaken up, but today much better. They called me tonight to say there were in good spirits and good health and we will  meet tomorrow. It seems like they will be in Yap for a while.

In another entry, I will recount the story of Glenn and how he managed to get his catamaran in Yap.

Even though it is a very small island, there has been enough happening that it exciting to be here. And the Chief asked me if I was bored. Not a chance.


One of the state legislatures cleaning up after the typhoon.

Backbeat. Hit the inner reef last November in Woleai during a typhoon. Glenn and Marie are crew and work on repairing it. It is  owned by an American. No storm damage.
From that great harbor in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

View of Chammorro Bay from the dingy.

George and Sandra, two very luck people.

Glenn and their son Ron working on a boat.

Sandra.

 

The old and the new.

Rainbow near sunset. A real mix in the sky of dark clouds and blue sky and not a drop of rain on us.

If you look close, you can see the reflection in the lagoon.

One beautiful yacht. Elan 43.

 

George and Glenn passing of diving tanks. Glenn has a tattoo of an America Indian women and chief on each of his upper arms. So did his Dad.

 

 

The diving tank everyone is touching is the one George used when he was diving to cut the line from the motor. Ron is in the foreground.

 

Typhoon Ruby Hagupit

She is getting stronger as she approaches PI, now a category storm. Two of our outer islands have not been in touch with the main island - Woleai and Ngulu. About ten people live on Ngulu, which was where the center of the typhoon hit.

Here is the last picture of the pathway as the typhoon approached Yap that I could save. I was hoping ot  bea ble to download one an hour later but didn't get the chance. No power.

12/05/14 at 11AM local time in Yap. Heading to PI. Now she probably is in the US news.

12.04.14 Aftermath

With few exceptions, we were very fortunate. The damage was limited to structures and trees and flooding over the bridges. Power was restored by noon for most places.

The winds died down at 3 AM, but even at daybreak they were heavier than usual.

And the work begins. Many people were out early to start the clean-up process.

All of the low lying roads were flooded at high tide.

Most of the big trees toppled over with the winds. This is in front of the O'Keefe House. O'Keefe is famous here in connection with the stone money. He transported it from Palau, greating driving down its worth.

This is the park with the monuments to the US WWII aircrew. They hope to restore the seawall.

Agnes. A very dear and good person. She helps with the less fortunate, walks every day, and has very good spirits. She lived in Hawaii for a while and returned to Yap to help take care of her elderly (90's) mother.

12.04.14 Typhoon Ruby Hagiput

One typhoon down, another storm moving in right now.

When a typhoon heads towards the Philippines it changes name, so to Hagiput we will add "Ruby" for PI. Hagiput is a PI word, but they change the name anyway.

It was a dark and stormy night. Just as soon as the winds picked up, the power went out. But I  give Yap a lot of credit for being prepared. The have a disaster plan and an incident command and command post. I had to call him once as I was the relay between our shelters and anything they needed.

We had 7 shelters opened on the island, 3 manned by Public Health (PH). The other four were maneedby the Community Health Centers. I stayed at the hospital as the second doctor on call as well as a resource for the PH shelters. (The other Peace Corps volunteers were confined to a hotel). We packed boxes of supplies for each center and had three volunteers located there, including one site for the 5 boats of "visitors". People also took refuge  in the wide halls of the hospital, a good place to stay out of the heavy winds and rain. It was exciting. We went through all the phases of  heavy winds, rain, that lull in the middle, then more heavy rains and winds.

Where I live most of our damage was due to flooding. Water crashed over the causeways and broke the windows and doors of the O'Keefe Hotel right on the water. We also lost edges from the park and many trees went down.  The southern part took a big hit as houses were flattened. But everyone made it. No casualties at the hospital or the shelters.

The beginning of the storm. We were expecting the arrival around 9 PM, but it hit us much earlier - late afternoon. No one thinks twice about going home early or not  coming in to work. Good thing we don't have snow storms here.

This banana tree survived but its leaves were shredded. Look through the leave to see a hut on stilts on the shore. It was flooded. The storm hit at high tide, a big problem for the people along the lagoon.

Wind.

And more wind.

12.02.14 Batten down the hatches

Right now, we are in a direct line for the typhoon to hit us tomorrow. We are in a state of emergency, windows are being shuttered, loose objects stored, and everyone buying enough betel nut and soft drinks to get them through a few rough days. I am on duty at the hospital tomorrow and Thursday, and if there are aftermaths of the typhoon, then will help out at the centers being prepared for an emergency.

The storm is heading northwest, right in our direction. There was no significant damage to the outer islands already hit by the storm.

There is an excellent chance we will lose power and our internet connection. That should be expected. Don't worry, I'll post again as soon as I can. You can follow the typhoon on NOAA Guam.

And my buddy Chocolate found me this morning. A brown dog was trying to nuzzle up to me when I looked and saw Chocolate wagging his bobbed off tail. He growled at the other dog and got his breakfast. Then he walked me to work, where he sat for a few hours, then ran an errand with me, then waited for me for a while again. All is right with the world now that I know no one ate him. I'll never forget that image of them roasting a dog.

12.02.14 Found. Dog

more soon.

12.01.14 Tropical Storm "Hagupit"

We are on watch for a tropical storm, perhaps typhoon, to hit us in the next day or so. It is at this time hitting one of Yap State's outer islands, news may reach us tomorrow on how they managed.

Just added - we're in it now. Heavy rain and winds.

Today we started the training/refresher course for clinical breast exams. Went to the municipality called Tomil and we had the  doctor, two community health nurses and 6 local women. It was a nice morning and I think they enjoyed the presentation. I asked Aileen, who works at the cancer program, to give the first part - risk factors, and history taking. We used my "pink sheet" as the model. Aileen is from Yap, and did her professional education in the USA. She is really nice and gave a very good presentation. Then I demonstrated a physical examination. The audience had to do a pretest and a post test. I'll grade them later, but I am curious how much they learned.

Yesterday while looking at the ariplanes, I also saw some beautiful plants. These are pitcher plants, carnivorous. There were quite a few of them, some large - a few inches tall and others only about one inch. They are connected to the leaf by a tendril, very clever.

Don't know the name of this flower, but thought it was also very pretty.

Haven't see my buddy Chocolate in over three days, and I am worried. I usually feed him three times a day and he waits for  me in the morning to walk me to work and then again when I come home. I looked everywhere for him. Went down all the pathways he takes but cannot find him. I am hoping no one harmed him, but that might be the case. In that case, I will be very sad. He kept me occupied with something else to do other than work. And the other dog that gave me puppy kisses (Cutey) was sent to the village, so today was really lonely.