Rota

With homes damaged, businesses disrupted, and families still recovering from Super Typhoon Bavi, Rota residents now have access to federal disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, unlocking federal assistance for residents and communities recovering from the effects of Super Typhoon Bavi, which made landfall on Rota on July 6.

With Rota still recovering from Typhoon Bavi’s July 6 landfall, the American Red Cross and the Mayor’s Office teamed up Sunday to deliver critical relief to more than 400 households, expanding shelter support, supply distribution and disaster assessments.

With the “All Clear” declared but advisories still in effect, utility crews across the CNMI are confronting fragile systems and storm‑related setbacks as they work to bring electricity and water back online for Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

Up to half of the utility poles on the island were toppled, and residents can spend six hours in line at the water-filling station.

Speaking from Rota during a Wednesday phone interview, Sen. Donald Manglona said Typhoon Bavi delivered some of the island’s worst damage in a decade, knocking out water service and destroying up to half of its power poles.

CNMI Delegate Kimberlyn King‑Hinds issued a late‑Tuesday Instagram message reassuring residents that recovery efforts were already underway, shortly after the Commonwealth lifted its all‑clear following Typhoon Bavi’s direct landfall on Rota.

Rota Mayor Aubrey Hocog confirmed Monday that the Mayor’s Office suffered “major damages” after Super Typhoon Bavi’s eyewall passed directly over the island.

Flash flooding and extreme winds hammered Rota early Monday as Super Typhoon Bavi passed overhead, prompting urgent safety warnings and driving hundreds of residents into government shelters.

Forecasters said passage of the eye would take about two hours, and intense winds would resume in the opposite direction.