With memories of past typhoons still fresh in many minds, Guam’s southern communities aren’t waiting to react – they’re preparing early and moving fast as Super Typhoon Sinlaku approaches.

A community that has seen firsthand the devastation typhoons can bring isn’t taking any chances this time around. In Talo’fo’fo’, Mayor Vicente Taitague says his office has spent the last several days responding to calls from residents – from trash pickup to helping secure homes. “[Residents have been] calling [us] up for trash pick up, helping put up shutters, and removing some obstacles in backyards. We do that to make sure everyone is safe. So, i think we’re ready for this typhoon' he explained.

While confident in their preparations, Mayor Taitague still urging caution, especially for those in low-lying and flood-prone areas. Talo’fo’fo’ Elementary School has been activated as a southern shelter – ready to take in residents if conditions worsen.

Shelter supervisor Shauna Tainatongo-Cruz says this time village is better prepared, telling KUAM News, “For this storm we are better prepared than for Typhoon Mawar. We know how to anticipate and plan better as a community. So, I think it’s gone extremely smooth.”

She says shelters will be providing food, water, toiletries, and a safe place for families to ride out the storm.

Meanwhile, Mayor Taitague says help is just a phone call away, encouraging, “The shelter is open for people to come in if they need a place to stay. If you need transportation, call me up, call your mayors’ office, and we will provide transportation.”

Further south in Inalåhan, village mayor Anthony Chargualaf says their preparations have been ongoing – well before Sinlaku. His office continues to clear drains, maintain roadsides, and remove debris, while also securing village decorations and public property ahead of the storm. “We’ve been ready. All we had to do was retrace [our steps though] everything we were doing before," he said.

“We mitigated a lot of the flooding areas during the dry season. We did some dredging to allow for better water flow and avoid ponding that affects people.”

Mayor Chargualaf also addressing concerns about possible water shortages — a known issue for the village. “Inalåhan has always been known to run out of water being that we have a heavy reliance on the Ugum Water Treatment Plant," he stated. "So what we’ve done is we’ve filled up our storage containers to the tune of 800 gallons. In the event that we do run out of water we are going to activate that storage and allow people who did not store water to get some.”

Inalåhan Middle School is also serving as a designated shelter for the south.

In Malesso’, Mayor Franklin Champaco says his staff are mirroring the preparations of the other villages, and praises his community for stepping-up. “Of course, our shelter," he said. "The numbers were rising last night and some people were asking for some bedding as a few families came with none. So we just put it out in the community chat and the Malesso’ people came through…gave some bedding to the families.”

“I do encourage the people to … come to the shelter.”

Merizo Martyrs Memorial School rounds out the three southern shelters as leaders continue to urge residents to take this storm seriously.and officials from Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense remind the public to stay out of the water amid dangerous surf conditions, secure loose items, and make sure households are stocked with food, water, and essential supplies for at least a week.

And if you are in need of assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to your mayors’ offices.