The Seventh-day Adventist school on the Micronesian island of Yap was among the 90 percent of structures, including the island's hospital that were heavily damaged, after Typhoon Sudal devastated the island April 9. The typhoon struck with 132 mile-per-ho
The Seventh-day Adventist school on the Micronesian island of Yap was among the 90 percent of structures, including the island’s hospital that were heavily damaged, after Typhoon Sudal devastated the island April 9. The typhoon struck with 132 mile-per-hour winds for more than five hours, creating waves as high as 35 feet.
On April 10, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Association declared a state of emergency for Yap, a 16 mile-long island group located an hour’s flight south of Guam and famous for its stone money.
Three of the campus’ seven buildings were destroyed and property damage could total as much as $500,000, according to Keith Rodman, Education Director for the Adventist Church in Guam and Micronesia.
Most of the island’s 8,000 residents are homeless after the typhoon damaged their homes. No deaths from the typhoon have been reported.
Rodman declared the school year over, and all volunteer teachers have been released from their assignments. The Yap Adventist School has 15 volunteer teachers from the United States, Mexico and the Philippines. Principal, Jamie Batangia, reports one phone line at the school is working and all volunteers have been able to contact family members.
The Yap Seventh-day Adventist School—kindergarten through 12th grade—was established in 1987.
