Just over a month later on 25 Oct., the second-strongest storm ever to hit U.S. soil, Super Typhoon Yutu, made a direct hit on the islands of Tinian and Saipan. The 31st MEU and CLB-31, which had just returned to Okinawa after completing deployment, received orders to assist relief efforts just days after returning to Camp Hansen. The 31st MEU arrived to support DSCA efforts in aiding local leadership and FEMA on 29 Oct., taking shelter at the international airport and establishing a command post. A more robust follow-on force arrived aboard the USS Ashland on 3 Nov., aiding with water purification, route clearance, damage assessments and restoration of municipal utilities. All told, the 31st MEU and CLB-31, which led the multiservice response effort on Tinian, cleared miles of roadway, purified more than 20,000 gallons of drinking water, and helped deliver and assemble more than 150 FEMA-provided shelters, handing control of the DSCA effort to the U.S. Navy Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 on 14 Nov.