Court Takes Direct Hit From Typhoon Soudelor

The last week of July, Gregg Miller traveled from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts’ Washington, DC offices to Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands for planning meetings on a local courthouse project. He was just in time to ride out in his hotel his first typhoon.

And what a typhoon.

The night of August 2, Typhoon Soudelor made a direct hit on Saipan with peak wind gusts over 91 mph. Typhoon force winds extended outward up to 30 miles from the center, and tropical storm force winds up to 125 miles from the center. News reports called it the “most powerful storm of the year.”

By Monday afternoon, the typhoon had intensified, but was moving away from Saipan. First assessments were of widespread damage across the island. The Acting Governor declared “a state of disaster and significant emergency,” and the public was urged to remain indoors due to the dangers of downed power poles and trees.

The Horiguchi Federal Building in Garapan, Saipan, which houses judges' chambers and the clerk's office, sustained considerable damage. Water penetrated a first floor window, damaging office ceilings, walls, carpet, and furniture. The building’s exterior also was damaged.

In an email from her home in Saipan, CNMI Magistrate Judge and Clerk of Court Heather Kennedy said, “Fortunately, there were no personal injuries but homes and property are severally damaged. We have one staff member who lost the roof of her home. A window blew out in the clerk's office so we had some water and wind damage."

A window to the chambers area was also damaged. Fortunately, building maintenance personnel present at the courthouse during the storm acted quickly to minimize the water damage.

The typhoon was so powerful that it blew in a separate, bulletproof window.

"Currently, there is no power island wide, which means limited water is available because pumps are not operating. Some businesses and homes are using backup generators but have been challenged by a fuel shortage due to damage to a fuel storage area near the seaport. We have limited diesel for the court generator, so are closed until next week,” said Kennedy.

Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona issued a general order closing the court until Wednesday, August 12, continuing all civil matters scheduled for the weeks of August 3 and August 10 until further notice and suspending all filing deadlines in pending cases. Updates on the court’s status were posted to the court website.

“The closure also allows staff and the legal community to attend to the damage at their homes and law offices. Our server is replicated so anyone with power can still file in CM/ECF,” said Manglona. 

The island is without power and water, although the court currently is using a generator. Kennedy does not expect island power to be restored for over a month. The District Court of Guam staff was able to send supplies by U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to Saipan, including generators, gas tanks, bottled water, fans, cleaning supplies, batteries, and other supplies.

“The Guam District Court, the Ninth Circuit and the AO have all offered assistance and the court is assessing its needs and we hope diesel fuel becomes available soon,”  Kennedy said. “The good news is that the phones are working, and data service is a bit spotty at times but mostly available.”

Meanwhile, Miller’s hotel was one of the fortunate buildings to survive the typhoon intact. Miller, while unharmed, reported trees and parts of buildings littering the streets and landscape. With spotty phone communications with Guam, he needed to find a way to connect with colleagues on Guam. Twenty-four hours after the super typhoon hit, Miller was able to email, “It is Tuesday, 7 pm in Guam as I write this. . .Quite the travel story but I got off of Saipan earlier today on a helicopter to Guam! The airport in Saipan may be closed for days.”

And then it was back to work.

“Tomorrow, Wednesday, we will meet at the courthouse in Guam,” Miller wrote, “and try to get done what we set out to do on the courthouse project in Saipan.”

President Obama declared the CNMI under “state of disaster and significant emergency,” beginning the relief process from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Over the next weeks the court will work with the General Services Administration on courthouse repairs, as Saipan recovers from what has become Super Typhoon Soudelor.