Kadena recovers from Typhoon Man-Yi

  • Published
  • By Maj. Dani Johnson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  After more than 24 hours in the highest typhoon condition and with winds gusting up to 105 mph, Kadena Air Base is now recovering from Typhoon Man-Yi.

The base entered the highest typhoon condition July12 with the expectation the typhoon would hit the island sometime July 13.

According to Capt. Jonathan Wilson, 18th Operations Support Squadron weather flight commander, the typhoon hit the base shortly after midnight July 13 and maintained 77 mph winds with gusts to 105 mph until approximately 5:30 p.m. when it was determined it was safe for damage assessment teams to start working. It wasn't until approximately 5:30 a.m. July 14 that the wing commander declared all clear and it was safe for all base members to leave their residences.

"The eye of the storm did not pass directly over Okinawa, it was approximately 24 miles off of the western coast," said the captain. "Kadena and the southern tip of the island was partially clipped by the eye but we never fully entered it."

During the storm, many base residents experienced power and water outages, according to 18th Civil Engineer Group officials. Also many trees on base have lost limbs and branches and there is a considerable amount of debris.

"There's a lot of damage to foliage and trees across base," said Lt. Col. Bart Barnhart, 18th Civil Engineer Squadron commander. "There are some buildings damaged but nothing significant."

Civil engineer teams started early July 14 cleaning up areas, working to get power on in areas that lost power, and bringing air conditioning units back on line. According to the civil engineers approximately 40 percent of the base lost power at some point during the typhoon.

Aircraft evacuated to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, will return by July 16 according to 18th Operations Group officials.

Typhoon Man-Yi was strongest typhoon to hit the base since 2003.