Hopwood Middle School was severely damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu Photo: RNZ Pacific / Mark Rabago
A school in the Northern Marianas which was destroyed by Super Typhoon Yutu is to be rebuilt on the same vulnerable site instead of being purpose built at a new location.
The Public School System says rebuilding Saipan's Hopwood Middle School at a new, safer, site is too expensive.
A new purpose-built campus would cost somewhere betweenn US$60-80 million, but the school system has only received US$24 million from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The current site is susceptible to climate change and storms, like that of Yutu, which struck last November.
A dearth of construction workers in the territory has also been cited as a reason to rebuild at its current location.
Hopwood's 1,000 students are currrently being taught in tents set up next to a nearby elementary school.