When Petrus Hetiback came to his family’s compound in the Zero Down subdivision in Yigo Tuesday, he went to see his nephew’s house, and found the wall and roof in one piece.
However, it was ripped from its foundation and laying on its side, blown over by strong winds of Super Typhoon Bavi.
“I was surprised when I saw the house … when I see it, I’m really sad about it,” he said, adding that his brother bought all the material, and helped with the building.
Bavi swept through the Marianas from Sunday night into Monday morning, sending Hetiback, his nephew and their family to Machananao Elementary School’s cafeteria, one of the five emergency shelters for residents who did not feel safe riding out the storm at home.
Hetiback said his nephew stayed behind at Machananao while he and other relatives returned to the compound to survey the damage. His nephew already knew about the damage.
“He was like, ‘oh, so I don’t have any place to stay?” he said. “He’s sad about it.”
Inside the compound, Hetiback’s own house and a nearby storage structure were soaked but still standing.
“It’s wet, but I think my house is good. It’s OK,” he said, adding that the storage was “also wet” as they worked to dry out belongings and clean up.
Hetiback said the family felt secure enough inside Machananao Elementary’s cafeteria as Bavi’s winds battered the island.
He said they did not encounter major structural problems at the school while they sheltered from the storm.
He did share the fear remained intense as winds whipped outside and trees shook.
With his own home still standing but wet, Hetiback said the family plans a temporary return to the shelter while they continue cleaning.
Same cycle every storm
That’s the same plan Beatrize Lukas and her family had when they returned to their home in the same neighborhood.
Lukas and her extended family of 32 liv across three self-built homes in a compound along Chalan Ramirez street. After hearing forecasts that Bavi could be stronger than previous storms, the family left their homes and hunkered down at Machananao.
A day after Bavi flooded their compound, the family spent their day hauling out soaked furniture, clothing and belongings before returning to the shelter at night.
They have followed a similar routine during major storms for the past five years. With forecasts calling for two to three more typhoons before the end of the year, Lukas said the family needs help rebuilding stronger homes or they will continue facing the same cycle after every storm.
“If only they could help us, you know, rebuild our home into concrete, because our homes, we just build it ourselves, so we can all be secured,” she said. “Because aside from it being semi concrete, it’s not safe, it’s not enough.”
Super Typhoon Mawar in March 2023 had already damaged much of what the family owned. Bavi then flooded all three homes and tore through the outdoor kitchen where the family usually gathers for meals.
“Our kitchen, our tables, everything flew away, so [the family] is trying to put them back. It flies somewhere out there, somewhere there, so they have to fix it back,” Lukas said.
Before evacuating, the family secured their homes with ropes, tied down belongings and covered items with tarps, but the preparations were not enough to prevent major damage.
Some plywood coverings placed over the windows also broke loose, allowing water inside and damaging items. The family continues sorting through wet belongings and determining what can be saved.
Lukas said they have relied on emergency shelters during major storms for the past five years, including Super Typhoon Mawar in 2023, Sinlaku in April, and now Bavi.
When Lukas returned to the property and saw the damage left behind, she said it felt like reliving the destruction caused by those previous storms.
“So much stress, so many things, like a whole nine yards again. We have to redo everything back,” she said. “Every typhoon we have to experience this, we have to organize everything, then after that we have to come back and put them back together in place. That’s very stressful for us residents here.”
Even while their children played at the shelter, Lukas said the family’s thoughts remained on their homes.
She said the classroom where the family stayed remained safe and dry during the storm.
School staff provided breakfast each morning like milk, cereal and apples because cooking was not allowed at the shelter, the family prepared meals before leaving home.
“We weren’t able to heat up our food, so we just cook everything, whatever we need to get, we cook them out for all of us here [in their home], then we bring it to school,” she said.
Although the shelter provided safety, Lukas said the family still wants to return home.
“We don’t want to live there, but we don’t have no choice,” Lukas said.
Lukas said the three homes were built mostly by the family using materials they could afford. She said the assistance they have received is not enough to rebuild a concrete home for the entire family.
With family members returning to work and the school year approaching, Lukas said the repeated move between home and shelter has become difficult.
For now, Lukas said the family will continue drying mattresses, clothing and other belongings during the day before returning to the school at night.
“We’re the ones that have to build it, where typhoons just come and take everything away,” she said.
Further around the block, Esly Rueben returned to her home after the storm to find the place her family spent years building badly damaged.
The family poured four years of savings and work into the small “comfort home,” only to return after Bavi and find her son’s room ripped open, the ceiling falling and many belongings soaked.
The only things that weren’t soaked was their personal clothes put into trash bags.
“It’s totally destroyed,” Rueben said of the damage to the house her family began building after Typhoon Mawar. “Still standing, but everything inside it’s wet.”
Rueben, her husband and two of their three adult children have lived in the modest semi-concrete and wood structure for about four years. The family bought the property through an installment plan after renting in Tamuning during Typhoon Mawar.
The move gave them a chance to work toward owning their own home, ant a cost of $800 a month, instead of continuing to pay rent.
On the night of the storm, Rueben’s family left their home and stayed with relatives in Las Palmas in Dededo.
When they returned, they found the porch damaged, the boys’ room exposed and the ceiling inside the house sagging.
“That’s our comfort home. We cannot do anything about this storm. We have to rebuild it, because that’s the only home we have,” Rueben said.
Her husband and son began securing the damaged areas and covering openings before nightfall.
The worst damage was in her sons’ room at the back of the house near the kitchen.
Her daughter’s room avoided major damage, but water still entered after the roof lifted.
She described the Chalan Somnak home as a place the family built from the ground up and hoped to continue improving.
She said returning to renting is not something the family wants to consider.
Rueben said her oldest son is 27, her second son is 24, and her youngest child recently graduated and plans to continue her education while working.
Her oldest son has since moved out.
The household income comes from Rueben, her husband and her two other children. Even with multiple family members working, she said construction costs and everyday expenses have made it difficult to save enough for a stronger home.
“It’s just not enough, because the price of everything is going up,” she said. “And when we decide to put [money] away, another bill’s coming out.”
Despite the damage, Rueben said the family has no plans to leave the property after spending years making payments toward the land.
Now, with forecasts calling for more storms, Rueben said the possibility of facing the same destruction again weighs on the family.
“Thanks to God, we made it to the next day of the storm, but we cannot do anything,” Rueben said. “We have to do our best to rebuild it, so we can go back to where we are.”
She said families living through repeated storms can only prepare for what comes.
As families across Yigo continue cleaning and rebuilding after Bavi, Hetiback said he hopes his nephew’s home can eventually be rebuilt with stronger materials if the structure can be salvaged.
“Planning to make something like cement or something we put up like rope and tie it on the house,” he said, describing his hope to better secure the home before another storm arrives.
