OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
11:00 AM – Tuesday, January 23, 2024
In the United States Army’s dining hall at their Roi-Namur base in the Marshall Islands, terrifying video showed waves as high as four feet smashing through doors.
On Saturday, a horrifying moment occurred when massive waves crashed through doors at an Army base in the Marshall Islands, forcing “non-mission personnel” to flee and sending furniture flying.
The incident occurred at approximately 9:00 p.m., when Roi-Namur, an island in the northern Kwajalein Atoll, was damaged by three to four-foot “weather-induced waves.”
“At approximately 9:00 p.m. on January 20th, 2024, a series of weather-induced waves hit Roi-Namur which caused significant flooding in the northern portions of the island,” the U.S. Army announced in a statement on Sunday evening.
Video footage capturing the incident has gone viral online, depicting the exact moment that the enormous waves entered the Army dining hall.
As people outside attempted to gather what they could and flee, someone from inside the hallway recorded the moment the rushing water burst through right outside the entrance. Shortly after, the powerful waves smashed through the glass of the double doors, shattering them.
As a result, people inside the dining hall clinged to available furniture and displayed fear as water continued to pour into the building.
According to Marianas Variety, there were two waves recorded at the catastrophic scene: the first one entered the base, and the second one entered the dining hall and rose to a height of almost five feet.
“United States Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll and mission partners have established an Emergency Operations Cell to oversee and coordinate all recovery efforts,” the Army stated. “We have accountability of all employees and evacuated all non-mission essential personnel to Kwajalein.”
On Sunday morning, the Army assessed the damage, reporting that “at least one-third of Rio-Namur was flooded” and that “water inundation washed over” the proximity. Additionally, according to the Army, flooding happened in other buildings and “the entire automotive warehouse area.”
According to David Paul, a Kwajalein Member of Parliament, a small island located just three miles from Rio-Namur was unaffected by the massive wave and the general flooding.
As part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site, Roi-Namur is home to some of the United States Army’s most developed space tracking apparatus. The Army base houses United States contract personnel, host nation personnel, family members, and government civilian employees, as well as Army members.
“All Roi residents will remain on Kwajalein until basic services can be restored on Roi,” the Army said. “Recovery efforts will be our top priority.”
One individual received treatment at the Kwajalein Island clinic for lower body injuries. However, Officer Mike Brantley of the Army Public Affairs Office reports that the person’s condition is stable.
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