Island A-Heart struggles to recover from nearly $100K in typhoon losses

Nearly four months after Super Typhoon Bavi battered Rota, Island A-Heart Retail is still struggling to recover from nearly $100,000 in losses from two successive typhoons, with its frozen food business yet to return to normal because of concerns over electricity costs and reliability.

Store owner Juan Pan Guerrero said Super Typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi dealt a double blow to his business, damaging the building, destroying frozen inventory, and forcing him to purchase a backup generator to keep operations running.

“Bavi came in and finished what Sanlaku started,” Guerrero told Marianas Press in an interview.

Guerrero, who has operated the Songsong store at its present location for a little over three years, said Sinlaku initially caused minimal losses because electricity was restored within days.

However, he believes the first typhoon weakened buildings and other properties, leaving them more vulnerable when Bavi struck in July.

For Island A-Heart, the biggest casualty was its frozen food inventory.

Guerrero said the store lost a considerable amount of frozen products and has yet to fully restock because of uncertainty over electricity rates and the reliability of the power supply.

The storms also caused water damage inside the store and leaks in the roof of a rear storage area.

Guerrero estimated the combined losses and expenses associated with the two typhoons at close to $100,000.

To prevent further disruptions, he purchased a backup generator for approximately $15,000, including transportation to Rota. However, operating it also proved difficult because of fuel shortages following Bavi.

“When we buy frozen, we got to make sure that it's properly, properly stored,” he said.

Island A-Heart is now exploring financial assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration to repair the building and recover some of its losses.

Despite its own difficulties, the store also helped address shortages of basic necessities following Bavi.

Guerrero said Island A-Heart brought in bottled water from Saipan and supplied local restaurants and residents when drinking water became scarce.

He said some establishments were charging as much as $2 to $3 for small bottles of water, prompting his store to sell similar products for 75 cents.

“We continue to bring them in, because, you know, it's, people need to drink water,” he said.

Rechargeable fans also became particularly popular among residents coping with prolonged outages, although Guerrero said shipping restrictions on lithium batteries complicated efforts to replenish supplies.

The store also expanded its merchandise and accommodated special orders to meet changing customer needs.

Business temporarily picked up while Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workers, and contractors were stationed on Rota following Bavi.

Guerrero said demand for bakery products increased enough for the store to receive shipments three times a week.

However, with most disaster response personnel having left the island, sales have slowed, forcing Island A-Heart to scale back bakery deliveries to once a week.

“We're back to a once a week shipment because slow, very slow,” he said.

For now, Guerrero said the business is concentrating on repairing its storm-damaged building, stabilizing operations, and eventually restoring its frozen food inventory.