South Korean tourists stranded on Guam have had a nightmarish few days.
Unable to wash or eat after Typhoon Mawar cut off their water supply, they were finally relieved when the airport resumed operations.
Reporter Jiwon Shin reports.
[Reporter]
Super typhoon ‘Mawar’ has left the island of Guam in shambles.
A dream vacation turned into a nightmare as typhoon damage cut off water and electricity.
[Korean tourist: I haven’t had a shower in four days now, so I’m thinking about collecting a lot of bottled water and using it to wash myself. The toilet doesn’t flush either]안전놀이터.
Even those who have managed to find temporary shelter are finding it difficult to eat.
Those with medical conditions have been unable to get medication, and their physical strength is at its limit.
[Kim Young-yeol / Korean tourist: I’m a pancreas transplant recipient, so I can’t eat and I’m only taking medication, so I’m running out of energy. I went to the hospital to get medication, but some medications are too expensive and some are not available….]
I also suffered a double whammy because I went through a travel agency instead of buying a ticket directly from the airline.
[Kim Young-yeol’s son: Jeju Air told me to try to contact Agoda, and Agoda said that the Korean staff is not at work right now, so they will call me back after 12:00 local time].
Some airlines have also been criticized for adding to the confusion by announcing on-site wait times.
[Eunsook Kwon / Local tourist in Guam: (Airline) staff all told me to go to the airport and wait, but there are 11 or 12 tickets left, so I can’t get a ticket just by waiting, and if you talk to people who went to the airport, it’s chaos right now, the airport is also chaos].
The airline explained that the on-site wait was necessary to ensure a quick return home.
While the inconvenience may continue for a while, depending on local conditions, tourists who were forced to flee Guam with the typhoon are at least relieved.