Kadena Airmen clean up after 60-hour typhoon

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sara Csurilla
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Cabin fever, lock down and boredom.

These are just a few of the words that were being used to describe their time during Typhoon Muifa, but not for all Airmen at Kadena Air Base, Japan.

More than 125 Airmen from the 18th Civil Engineer Group were on duty during and after the slow-moving yet destructive typhoon.

"During the typhoon we had 21 damage assessment team personnel waiting in the 18th CEG unit control center," said Maj. Justin Morrison, 18th CEG Operations flight commander. "We also had five operations management personnel, two personnel acting as leadership in the UCC, one as emergency management, two pavement and equipment operators, two for water fuels system maintenance and four electricians. During Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4, or TCCOR4, we had 83 Airmen working to get water, power, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and storm drains cleared."

After being in TCCOR 1 for nearly 60 hours, Kadena returned to TCCOR4 and almost every Airman from the 18th CEG began to help clean up the base by doing everything from picking up fallen tree branches to clearing out clogged storm drains.

"I couldn't be more proud of the 18th CEG team and their 'can-do' attitude," Morrison said. "The base was back to full operation quickly following the storm. Further, they have done an outstanding job cleaning up the base and tackling the numerous non-mission critical damage and repairs that must now be completed. The base almost looks like a typhoon never happened and is back to normal, which is a testament to these engineers' hard work."

Having the base go back to normal wasn't easy after Typhoon Muifa wreaked havoc on the island for multiple days.

"Kadena recorded 42.19 inches of rainfall during the typhoon," said Capt. Kyle Paslay, 18th Operations Support Squadron Weather flight commander. "The maximum amount of rain ever recorded on island was with Typhoon Emma in 1956 at 50.87 inches. Typhoon Muifa had the second highest amount of rainfall recorded."

Some of the most common damages during typhoons are fallen trees and other scattered debris as well as clogged storm drains that make flooding more probable. As for facilities, common damage includes roofs that have blown apart and damaged HVAC systems and power lines.

"Muifa was a very powerful typhoon, but overall we were lucky when it came to damages," Morrison said. "We have seen a lot of issues with mudslides in the munitions storage area, but the most surprising was the tiles on the BX [base exchange] roof being blown off. I guess that was just a testament to the strength of Typhoon Muifa."

Apart from damages, wing leadership has stressed concern about members of Team Kadena and their families understanding TCCOR conditions and necessary actions for each condition.

As soon as TCCOR 1 Caution is declared, all personnel must stay inside until the 18th Wing commander declares Storm Watch or a lower TCCOR. This applies to all Status of Forces Agreement status personnel and their dependents, whether they live on base or off base. Personnel are to stay inside during TCCOR 1 Caution, TCCOR 1 Emergency and TCCOR 1 Recovery. Only mission-essential personnel, such as CE Airmen, are permitted to move when TCCOR 1R is declared.

If SOFA status members on or off base are caught outside during these times, they may be punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or the Fifth Amendment rights.

For more information about emergency actions during typhoons, visit http://www.kadenaforcesupport.com/AFD-070209-074.pdf.