Gov't moves to assist 3,400 Koreans stranded in typhoon-hit Guam

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Forestry

Thu, September 28, 2023 | 23:41

Gov't moves to assist 3,400 Koreans stranded in typhoon-hit Guam

Posted : 2023-05-28 16:47

Updated : 2023-05-29 14:35

In this photo taken by a Korean tourist in Guam, stranded Koreans gather inside the grand ballroom of a local hotel, Thursday (local time), a day after Super Typhoon Mawar hit the island shutting down the local airport and damaging local infrastructure. Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

As Guam has been hit by Super Typhoon Mawar, the Korean government is preparing assistance for Korean tourists stranded there, securing local lodgings and preparing medical assistance for those who have been injured.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed with The Korea Times, Sunday, that three shelters have been secured for those affected. Provided by the local Korean community, a Korean church and a local Korean lodge operator on the island, the shelters can house up to 135 altogether, according to the authority.

A ministry official said a local Korean medical expert has also been contacted and agreed with the ministry to open a temporary medical center there to assist the injured. The authority said the center is expected to run until Monday, supplying drugs for patients.

The ministry's outreach came as 3,400 Koreans were confirmed to have been on the popular resort island, a territory of the United States, when the typhoon struck the island, Wednesday (local time). No casualties have been reported, but the typhoon has disrupted water and electricity, necessitating the closure of the airport and leaving many tourists stranded there.

Local Korean residents on the South Pacific island have been providing drinking water, instant noodles, snacks and other daily necessities to the Korean consulate's office to help stranded tourists, a ministry official said.

Later in the day, the ministry said that Guam International Airport will reopen on Monday, a day earlier than previously anticipated, thanks to local American authorities' fast-tracked recovery work. Flights will resume at around 3 p.m., and one of the earliest planes leaving for the Korean victims from Seoul will be a Korean Air flight, which is scheduled to arrive in Guam at 5 p.m. and leave for Incheon International Airport two hours later.

aoshima11@koreatimes.co.kr