More than 1300 residents in the Northern Marianas have applied for relief assistance in the wake of Typhoon Soudelor which battered the territory just over a week ago.
Car in Saipan left upside down by Typhoon Soudelor Photo: Facebook
The typhoon's sustained winds of 170 kilometres an hour, damaged infrastructure, destroyed more than 380 homes, left residents without electricity and a shortage of water and fuel.
Federal relief supplies arrived in Saipan on the weekend and are being distributed by US sailors and marines, who are also assisting in restoring electricity and other infrastructure on Saipan.
Our correspondent Mark Rabago in the CNMI says the number of applications for aid is expected to increase.
"There's just an overwhelming [number] of people who have lost homes, lost property. There's just some sad news that we've come to get from the shelters of people losing everything except for their clothes on their backs. So we expect this 1300 number to balloon in the coming days."