Hurricane in Guam, December 8 to 9, 2002

A circulation became Tropical Depression 31W early on the morning of the 3rd. It was about 70 miles north-northeast of Kosrae. It quickly became Tropical Storm Pongsona later that morning. On the evening of the 5th it became Typhoon Pongsona, it was150 miles east-northeast of Chuuk. Typhoon Pongsona's eye crossed the northern end of Guam on the 8th. Much of the island had to endure a long period in the storm's eye wall since the storm was moving slow, about 10 miles per hour .Maximum sustained wind at the National Weather Service Office was 105 mph from the West at 1826 on the 8th. highest reported gust was 115 mph from the North at 1508. Wind may have been stronger, but unrecorded since tower which sensor was on blew down.At Andersen Air Force Base the estimated maximum sustained wind was 115 mph from theNorth at 1459. The highest reported gust was 150 mph from the north 1459. Lowest Pressure was 937.2 Mb at 1900L from Andersen AFB. 24 hour rainfall at the National Weather Service Office in Guam ending at midnight on the 9th was 19.67 inches.Storm surge on Guam...near 20 feet at some locations. 9 to 13 feet on many northeastern, northern and northwestern locations near the eye wall. Considerable surge flooding from Tumon Bay southward to Piti on the west coast. Some buildings on the west coast had standing water up to four feet. Beach erosion on Guam...Considerable at western clockwise through northeastern locations. Sea wall heavily damaged at the Paseo Park in Hagatna and at western coastal locations along Marine Drive.Flooding on Guam...minor at some low lying locations. Central Rivers ran very high with record streamflows at the Pago River (East side) and Asan River (West side).There was extensive flooding in several villages. Major damage throughout the norther two-thirds of GuamHospitalWinds from the typhoon collapsed the walls at Guam Memorial Hospital. The medical telemetry unit, pediatrics, the Intensive Care Unit and the Respiratory Unit were shut down because of the collapse of the wall. No injuries were sustained at the hospital. 300 people were brought to the hospital for storm related injuries.One death was related to the typhoon. An elderly woman was cut badly during the peak of the storm and apparently went into cardiac arrest. 71 years old. HotelsSeveral people reportedly were injured at the Outrigger Guam Resort, near the upper-level floors where travel agent offices are located. The metal security gate that separated the hotel from the entertainment and restaurant complex next door fell during the early part of the storm, causing injuries, and windows at the travel agencies blew in, cutting people with glass. A doctor was found in the hotel to treat the injured. The ceiling in the bridge between the Outrigger and Sam Choy's Restaurant partially collapsed. Several rooms were flooded, the outside walls of two rooms on the eighth and ninth floors were ripped out by the storm. The Guam Marriot Resort had damage to the lobby and two restaurants . The Hilton Hotel in Tumon suffered millions in damage as many rooms were flooded, walls cracked and the executive lounge in the Magalahi Tower was wrecked as strong typhoon winds destroyed the typhoon-proof windows. Tank Farm FireFire at Mobil tank farm at the commercial port at Cabras Island. It is believed that static electricity inside on of the tanks may have been the cause of the fire. During the height of the storm a tank of unleaded gasoline caught fire. Static electricity may have occurred inside the tank due to friction caused by extremly high winds rushing through the ventilation system. The tank that first caught fire contained less than 15 percent of its total capacity of unleaded gasoline when the fire erupted. The explosion sent the tank's lid airborne, and it landed more than six hundred feet northeast of the tank.By the 9th the fire had already destroyed two other nearby tanks. A third tank had ignited by the heat of the other fires. A fourth by the 10th. One was a jet fuel tank, one gasoline and a third diesel.The fire was extremely hot, the tanks were close together and low water pressure hampered firefighting efforts. The fire was finally put out on the 13th around 1600. ChurchesThe Santa Teresita Catholic Church in Mangilao sustained extensive damage. The wind ripped apart a chunk of tin sheets from metal beams and blew in a huge glass windows. The roof blew off St. Jude's Church in Sinajana. the roof of the Ordot-Chalan Pago chuch also blew away. AirportDamage to navigation equipment. 65 percent of the metal security fence surround the airport was pushed over by the typhoon force winds. A Continental Airline hanger at Guam's International Airport had its roof damaged.Storm Damage on Guam was estimated at $73 million. Utilities and Roads$52 million worth of damage to the power system with $47 million worth occurring to power poles, lines and transformers. The agency needed to replace to 715 concrete poles and 513 transformers.Pavement on bridges over the Asalonso and Pauliloc rivers in Inarajan looked as if it were scraped off the road. Motorist familiar with the area said the rivers overflowed and caused the pavement to be ripped off sections of those roads. Sand and gravel from the beach washed onto Marine Drive in East Hagatna.SchoolsTwo walls at Vincent Benavente Middle School were damaged. The second floor of Father Duenas Memorial School's main building were damaged. Much of the roof was torn from metal beams. Rain pouring in the after the roof was gone flooded parts of the interior of the school. Rain water from the typhoon drenched carpeting, blew out air conditioning units and shattered windows at Evangelical Christian Academy in Chalan Pago.Harvest Christian Academy suffered extensive damage.1751 destroyed2048 major damage4692 minor400 homes in Yigo destroyed alone.Tamuning gym suffered major damage.Paseo Stadium sustained considerable damage. Lighting system was totally destroyed.72 of 110 water wells were inoperable. All wells were on generator with only some generators able to work. The generators are only supposed to be used temporarily.Typhoon force winds at Alupang Sunset Gardens pushed cars around in the parking lot. People said they were stacked over each other like a fallen stack of dominoes. Typhoon force winds blew the awning off the outdoor visitation area at the island's prison in Mangilao. About 150 inmates were moved from the dome to the indoor visitation site. On the 8th 2271 people were in shelters on Guam on the 8th. This increased to 3467 people on the 9th after people discovered that there homes were uninhabitable. People still in the shelters as of Dec 16. People began to leave the shelters on Dec 27 as tents were handed outAgricultureMajor damage to crops on Rota and Tinian, two island -wide power outages on Tinian and damage at Rota's East Harbor. Scattered power outages were reported in Saipan.ROTA150 people sought shelter in Rota. 200 families became homeless. Damage estimated at 30 to 50 million dollars. 114 houses destroyed, 154 with major damage with another 306 with minor damage.10 minor injuriesStorm surge on Rota...22 feet at Songsong Village on the east coast of the southwest peninsula. Surge crossed about four-fifths of the peninsula.Beach erosion on Rota...fuel pier and loading pipeline destroyed. On Rota an automated wind sensor reported the maximum sustained wind to be 78 mph with gust to 85 mph from the east at 1846.Saipan549 people sought shelter in Saipan.Six minor injuries were reported. $50,000 damage to power system and $56,0000 for water system2 houses destroyed, 7 with major damage with another 8 with minor damage.On Saipan the maximum sustained wind was 44 mph and highest gust was 56 mph both from the east and both occurring at 2129.Tinian Had one power pole broken plus other related items. Cost to fix everything $90002 houses destroyed, 7 with major damage with another 8 with minor damage.