Yap, Federated States of Micronesia …. [Ansel Oliver/ANN]
The Seventh-day Adventist school on the Micronesian island of Yap was among the 90 percent of destroyed structures, including the island’s hospital, after Typhoon Sudal devastated the island April 9. The typhoon hit with 132 mile-per-hour winds for more than five hours and created waves up to 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 famous for its stone money, located an hour’s flight south of Guam.
“The school facility was badly damaged … everything came down, and the walls that are still standing were badly shaken. … [I]t cannot be rebuilt,” reported Eliki Ravia, pastor of the Yap Adventist Church.
Most of the island’s 8,000 residents are homeless after the typhoon damaged their homes. No deaths from the typhoon have been reported.
The Yap Seventh-day Adventist School–kindergarten through 12th grade–was established in 1987.
Copyright © 2004 by Adventist News Network.
