Las Vegas Volunteers Deploy to Guam After 180 MPH Typhoon

When Super Typhoon Bavi slammed into the Northern Mariana Islands with record-breaking 180 mph winds, two Las Vegas volunteers were ready to answer the call.

Pat Moore and Linda Gong, both experienced American Red Cross disaster responders from Southern Nevada, deployed this week to help communities recovering from one of the most powerful storms the region has ever seen. The massive typhoon made landfall Monday on Rota island, becoming the strongest storm ever recorded there.

The destruction stretched across multiple islands. Guam, Saipan, and Tinian all faced damaging winds and heavy rain, creating an especially difficult situation since these communities were still recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku just months earlier in April.

But help was already on the way before the storm even hit. Red Cross teams positioned themselves on Guam and Saipan ahead of time, allowing volunteers to start helping residents as soon as conditions became safe enough to work.

Moore and Gong represent a growing wave of support flowing into the region. More Southern Nevada volunteers may deploy in coming days and weeks as the response effort continues to grow.

The Ripple Effect

Their deployment is part of a nationwide mobilization bringing together disaster workers from across America. Local volunteers from the Pacific islands are working side by side with mainland responders and community partners to provide shelter, food, medical care, and emotional support to families who lost everything.

The coordinated response shows how communities thousands of miles apart can connect in moments of crisis. What started as two volunteers leaving Las Vegas has become part of a much larger story about Americans helping Americans, no matter how far the journey.

These experienced responders have supported Red Cross operations nationwide, bringing valuable skills and compassion to every disaster they face. Now they're putting that expertise to work helping island communities rebuild and recover.

The response effort continues to grow as more help arrives daily to support the long road to recovery ahead.