Tag Archives: Islands

Resilience After Disasters

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By Executive Director of Central Valley Chapter Lori Wilson

Lori Wilson (L) with Mayor Camacho (R).

CORRECTION (July 31, 2026): An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Mayor Camacho of Saipan as former Mayor Carlos Camacho from Guam. The error has been corrected.

In July, I had the privilege of touring the island of Saipan with Mayor Camacho as an Elected Official Liaison (EOL), visiting families whose lives have been deeply affected by Typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi alongside him. As we went from home to home, we listened to their stories, learned about their most pressing needs and witnessed firsthand the remarkable resilience that continues to shine through despite so much loss and uncertainty.

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Gale Carli’s Journey to Saipan Revealed the Best of Humanity After Disaster

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When retired nurse Gale Carli from San Mateo County arrived in Saipan seven days after Super Typhoon Sinlaku devastated the U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean, the signs of destruction were impossible to miss. 

Red Cross volunteer Gale Carli in Saipan.

“The electricity was off, so driving was treacherous,” Carli recalled. “There were trees down, power poles down, lights down, and you could tell that something disastrous had happened.” 

Sinlaku, an exceptionally powerful Category 5-equivalent storm, blew through the Northern Mariana Islands in mid-April, unleashing catastrophic flooding and sustained winds approaching 180 miles per hour. The storm left the tourism-dependent island struggling to recover. Trees were stripped bare, roads were littered with debris, and much of the lush tropical landscape had turned brown after exposure to salt water. 

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