Rota mayor: no damage to our island, no harm to our people after tropical storm

Rota was spared from Tropical Storm Man-Yi. Out of an abundance of caution, schools and government offices were closed today.

Mayor Aubry Hocog told KUAM News, "So we had our safety briefing this morning at 9am, and it was so great to hear and report that there was no damage to our island, no harm to our people, which is always great news. We did have some phone calls that were made to our shelter inquiring information. But we did not have any clients that checked in or any of our residents that sought shelter at the aging office."

The mayor shared that good news Wednesday morning. However, the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation did announce that some villages had an emergency power service interruption from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. to allow linemen to replace two damaged insulator pins on a primary power pole in the area.

But the mayor says the island was more prepared, especially after previous storms. "Well, once we got the notice or the weather report, we were able to respond quickly, and ii decided to have our shelter open just in case anybody sought shelter. You know, many things happened over, over time. And, you know, we don't know the living conditions of our residents just to make sure that we offer a safe avenue for people, which is what prompted me to open the shelter.

"But we're very, very blessed and thankful that this tropical storm did not expand or escalate."