Water supply to a number of villages on Saipan in the Northern Marianas is slowly being restored.
Damage in CNMI from Typhoon Soudelor Photo: Facebook
Eight days after Typhoon Souledor hit and knocked out the power needed for pumping the water to tens of thousands of customers the utility says it is close to getting them back on stream.
The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation says it has installed three generators from the 10 onboard the USS Ashland, which arrive at the weekend with relief supplies.
The generators are able to power the pumps at one of the island's reservoirs and seven villages are being reconnected.
The utility says power poles along the route from the Commonwealth Health Center to Power Plant 4 have been re-erected and the hospital, which has been relying on its back up generators, is expected to be connected to the grid early next week.