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Many people in a deadly super typhoon Pacific territory have lost everything, but residents say they are resilient and need to focus on the long-term recovery ahead.
US government sends supplies to Northern Mariana Islands as people dig ruined houses, crushed cars and utility poles that fall to the ground after Super Typhoon Yutu passes in Category 5 on Thursday of storm.
"The reconstruction of this island is already starting and time is not expecting anyone," wrote Jan Reyes, a resident of Saipan, the country's most populous island, in an email to The Associated Press. "Despite the losses, we, the inhabitants of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, are resilient."
To help the recovery, the military planes brought food, water, tarpaulins and other supplies.
The spokesman for the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Gervino, said his goal was to help restore power, open sea and air ports and guarantee Mobile towers can operate with backup power until the electricity returns.
The Yutu Super Typhoon blew sustained maximum winds of 290 km / h (290 mph) when it flew over the islands of Tinian and Saipan, the national meteorological service announced. On Saturday, there was still no electricity in Saipan (population 50,000) and Tinian (3,000 people).
The biggest storm that hit the United States this year was overturning cars, crushing small planes, ripping off roofs and killing a woman who had taken refuge in an abandoned building that had collapsed. Others were injured, including three people needing surgery.
Edwin Propst, a member of the House of Representatives of the Territory, explained that many homes have been destroyed because some families can not afford to buy concrete houses that comply with building codes that are supposed to withstand typhoon winds.
Some people build houses with concrete foundations and walls, but the structures have wooden or sheet metal roofs.
Reyes and his family have lost everything.
"Everything my family and I have bought and added to our house over the past 13 years on the flooded floor, all the windows in our house have broken," wrote Reyes.
A cousin was trapped under debris for seven hours, Reyes said.
His family emerged from the storm in a hotel room, knocking over a bed to create a barricade against wind, rain and debris. When the worst went on, she said it took half an hour to traverse the poles and fallen trees, which normally takes five minutes by car to get to their home.
"The foundation of our culture is altruism and family values and that's what has always helped us through difficult times," she wrote. "We will always be optimistic and prepared for the worst – it's our way of life."
Michelle Francis is hidden in a closet while the storm has destroyed her home in Saipan, saying in a Facebook message that "many people have lost their homes and belongings." Now everyone is trying to stay strong , to have faith ".
Islanders are accustomed to facing monster storms, but many have said that Yutu was the worst they've ever known.
Because of bad weather, people "listen to warnings from local authorities, they shelter when they ask for it, they make their provisions before the storm," Gervino said.
The territory's only hospital, in Saipan, said it saw 133 people in its emergency room on Thursday and that three patients had sustained a serious injury requiring surgery.
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Territorial Delegate to Congress, said that residents will need major help to recover.
FEMA has 220,000 liters of water and 260,000 meals stored in Guam to be shipped to Northern Mariana Islands, half an hour by plane.
FEMA made changes after Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm that hit Puerto Rico last year, creating working groups to meet those needs.
Commercial flights will not work for some time due to damage to the airport, said Nadine Deleon Guerrero, spokeswoman for the territory's emergency management department.
More than 800 people were in shelters across the islands, and the squares were exhausting, officials said.
Saipan is a popular tourist destination for visitors from China and South Korea, only a few hours away by plane. Some 650,000 tourists visited the fiscal year 2017, according to the authority of the Marianas visitors.
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McAvoy and Kelleher have been reported to Honolulu. Associated Press reporter Caleb Jones in Honolulu contributed to this report.
