Guam has been hit by “super typhoon” Mawar, and it will be at least three more days before flights resume.
More than 3,000 South Korean travelers are also stuck on the island, and the damage is growing.
Rather than wait for Guam’s airport to be restored, locals are hoping that they will be able to take a boat to neighboring Saipan.
Reporter Sungjae Lim reports.
[Reporter]
Uprooted trees litter the roadside and telephone poles are snapped.
The outer walls of buildings have been ripped off, and water is leaking inside hotels.
These are the reports sent to YTN by South Korean travelers staying in Guam, which was hit by “super typhoon” Mawar.
In Guam, a popular family destination, there are not only children but also pregnant travelers.
They say they are worried that they will break out in the harsh environment where they have not been able to wash for days.
[Ethan / Traveler, Guam: “It’s just the kind of situation where (my pregnant wife) is suffering a lot right now because she’s getting stomach pains in between, and she can’t wash.” “It’s been a week, I was originally going to go out on Thursday….]
There are several travelers with medical conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes, and we’ve almost finished the medication we brought with us, but we don’t know where to buy it, so we’re just stumbling around.
They can’t afford to go to the doctor.
It costs as little as $500 and as much as $1,000 for a single visit.
[Mr. A / Local traveler in Guam: I’m bringing my elderly parents here, and they are very worried because they don’t have enough blood pressure medication and diabetes medication…. I don’t know where to go for help because it takes so long and difficult to get to a doctor].
Some hotels are struggling to extend stays, and some supermarkets are scrambling for cash as electricity is out and credit card payments are stuck.
With over 3,000 people stranded, some locals are saying it’s like being stuck in a “Guam jail”.
They’re hoping that if they can’t get a plane in right away, they’ll at least be able to take a boat to nearby Saipan.
[Kim Young-yeol / Traveler on Guam: If we can go by ship from Guam to Saipan right now, even tomorrow, that would be a very good way to get into South Korea from Saipan (if something can be arranged).
With Guam’s airport expected to resume operations around the 30th스포츠토토, diplomatic officials are working to set up temporary shelters in churches, etc.
[Jung Kang / Overseas Safety Planning Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: (Local hospitals) are currently expensive, and I know that many people are hesitant to go there, so we are trying to arrange for Korean doctors so that medical treatment and prescriptions can be done at the same time].
A foreign ministry official told YTN, which asked if it was possible to arrange flights to Saipan after the airport was restored, that they would check on the possibility and provide guidance.
YTN’s Lim Sung-jae.