Super Typhoon Sinlaku threatens US Pacific islands

A super typhoon is targeting several remote U.S. islands in the Pacific Ocean, bringing heavy rain and tropical storm-force wind gusts to Guam just hours before its expected arrival.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku is forecast to move over the Northern Mariana Islands late Tuesday local time, bringing widespread rainfall, flooding, and destructive winds that could trigger prolonged power outages, according to the U.S. National Weather Service, News.Az reports, citing NBC News.

Guam, a U.S. territory home to around 170,000 residents and several major American military installations, is not expected to experience a direct hit. However, officials warn that the island could still face damaging winds.

The system, described as the strongest storm on Earth so far this year, was producing sustained winds of 173 mph on Monday as it approached the islands of Rota, Tinian, and Saipan, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Although the storm is expected to weaken slightly in the coming days, Sinlaku is still projected to pass over or near the islands as a Category 4 or Category 5 typhoon.

Meteorologist Joshua Schank, based in Guam with the weather service, said the typhoon has largely maintained a track that takes it directly over or just beside Tinian and Saipan.

Roughly 50,000 people live across the three islands, with the majority residing on Saipan, which is known for its resort tourism, snorkeling, and golf courses, as well as serving as the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Saipan also holds historical significance as the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific during World War II, where more than 50,000 Japanese and American soldiers and local civilians were killed.

In Guam, where Typhoon Mawar left widespread power outages in 2023, U.S. military officials have instructed personnel to prepare for the incoming storm and shelter in place. The U.S. military controls roughly one-third of the island, which serves as a strategic hub for American forces in the Pacific.

Early Tuesday, Guam was already experiencing heavy rainfall and wind gusts reaching up to 60 mph, Schank said. Most businesses were closed, and residents were advised to remain at home.

Before moving toward Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, the storm had already caused significant damage to outer islands and atolls in Chuuk, part of the Federated States of Micronesia, according to meteorologist Landon Aydlett of the National Weather Service in Guam.

Glen Hunter, a Saipan native, said residents in the region are accustomed to severe storms. “We sit in what they call ‘Typhoon Alley,’” he said early Tuesday, noting strong gusts and fallen trees after waking up.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev