The Northern Marianas Governor, Ralph Torres, says power and water distribution is slowly being restored throughout the island.
Photo: Twitter/ @_ryreyes
Nearly two weeks after Super Typhoon Yutu devastated Saipan the local community is trying to bring some normalcy to their lives with power and water returning to some villages in the middle and northern part of the island.
The southern end of Saipan took the brunt of the storm.
The restoration of some services has been achieved relatively faster compared with the aftermath of Typhoon Soudelor in 2015.
The Commonwealth Health Center is also up and running after the Commonwealth's utility company prioritized the restoration of services to the hospital.
Government offices on Saipan have also resumed their regular operational hours from today.
Public schools on Saipan to allow students to go private
The Northern Marianas Public School System said it would allow students to transfer to private schools as they continue to asses damage to facilities after Super Typhoon Yutu.
A school building is damaged after Super Typhoon Yutu Photo: RNZ Pacific / Mark Rabago
The Public School System said earlier it could be two months before public schools can re-open, as their campuses on the southern part of Saipan were devastated and schools in other parts of the island are being used as emergency shelters for residents who lost their homes.
The System said when classes restart they may implement double session of four hours of instruction, to catch up for the lost time.
It also warned that some schools would need to be relocated, or to at least to share their campuses with other schools.
Some private schools welcomed back students as early as last week.