A powerful super typhoon relentlessly struck two remote U.S. islands in the Pacific Ocean, unleashing intense winds and heavy rains that tore apart tin roofs and forced residents to seek shelter from flying debris.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku hammered the Northern Mariana Islands for several hours before dawn on Wednesday, decelerating to cause further havoc on Tinian and Saipan, which are home to nearly 50,000 people.
In the Saipan village of Susupe, resident Dong Min Lee described it as too perilous to venture outside for a thorough damage assessment at dawn. From his apartment, he saw a car on top of two others in the parking lot below, and part of his balcony railing was missing due to the winds.
“I hope people will take an interest and help. The damage is really huge here,” Lee expressed in a Facebook message.
The typhoon, marked as the strongest tropical cyclone globally this year, carried sustained winds reaching up to 150 mph (240 kph) when it made landfall on the islands, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm’s tropical-force winds and intense rainfall also triggered flash flooding on Guam, a U.S. territory to the south, which hosts various U.S. military installations and approximately 170,000 residents, as reported by the weather service.
“I’m guessing anything that was made of wood and tin did not survive this,” commented Glen Hunter, a Saipan native, who witnessed several tin roofs being swept away.
Having endured numerous typhoons, Hunter told The Associated Press that this seemed to be the most powerful one yet. His concrete home was inundated with rain seeping through every crevice.
“It was a losing battle because the rain was coming through everywhere,” he remarked. “Every house is just flooded with water, no matter what type of structure you’re in.”
Although wind gusts slowed slightly on the Mariana Islands early Wednesday, and the storm began to move northward, conditions did not immediately improve, according to the weather service.
Ed Propst, who works in the governor’s office in Saipan, mentioned hearing “banging and clanging through the night.”
“We haven’t heard of any — knock on wood — deaths so far,” he noted, attributing this to residents following warnings to seek shelter if they weren’t in a concrete home.
Typhoon Slows, Increasing Risk Of Widespread Damage
The massive storm slowed to a near standstill as it neared the islands.
“This is not going to be an easy night for anyone across Tinian or Saipan. This is going to be a loud night,” said Landon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the weather service. He warned that many would “wake up to a different island,” during a Facebook video broadcast.
Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands and its capital, is renowned for its resorts, snorkeling, and golf.
Mayor Ramon “RB” Jose Blas Camacho reported late Tuesday that the severe rain and wind around Saipan complicated efforts to reach those needing rescue.
“Objects are just flying left and right,” he described.
Most of the storm’s fury occurred during the night and was anticipated to persist until at least sunrise Wednesday, according to the weather service. Though it was expected to weaken somewhat in the following days, Sinlaku crossed the islands as a Category 4 typhoon.
Winds of 75 mph (121 kph) or higher were predicted to continue through Wednesday afternoon as the storm’s eye moved northwest of Saipan and Tinian, said Ken Kleeschulte, acting science and operations officer for the National Weather Service on Guam. Even as winds decreased to about 50 mph (80 kph), they would remain too strong for safe outdoor activity for at least a day and a half, he stated.
Sinlaku was forecasted to curve toward sparsely populated volcanic islands in the far northern Marianas, he said, noting that its name is derived from a goddess of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Still Recovering From A 2018 Typhoon
On Guam, where Typhoon Mawar caused power outages for days in 2023, U.S. military officials urged personnel to stay sheltered. The military holds control over about one-third of Guam’s land, a crucial hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific.
Before heading toward the Northern Marianas, the storm inflicted substantial damage on the outer islands and atolls of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, reported Aydlett from his weather service station on Guam.
Saipan, heavily reliant on tourism and historically significant as the site of one of World War II’s bloodiest Pacific battles, was still recovering from 2018’s Super Typhoon Yutu when the coronavirus pandemic struck, noted Hunter. The economy has not yet rebounded, he observed.
Yutu destroyed 85% of the Northern Marianas College campus in Saipan, stated the institution’s president, Galvin Deleon Guerrero. The college secured $100 million in grant funding for rebuilding efforts.
“Just as we were finally beginning to recover and rebuild, we get hit with this,” he lamented. “Climate change is real.”
He expressed concern for those still suffering from the post-traumatic stress of Yutu.
“We are an incredibly resilient people,” he said, referencing his Chamorro heritage, the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands. “But just because we’re resilient doesn’t mean that we should be subjected to this on this frequent basis.”
President Donald Trump approved emergency disaster declarations in anticipation of the latest storm for Guam and the Mariana Islands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinated support across multiple agencies, deploying nearly 100 FEMA staff and other personnel.
Super typhoons are equivalent to Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with winds of at least 150 mph (240 kph). Over 300 super typhoons have been identified in the past 80 years by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam.
Typhoons are “very common” in the Pacific, with a peak season similar to the Atlantic hurricane season, running from summer to fall, explained Jason Nicholls, AccuWeather’s lead international forecaster.
“As we’ve seen this year, you can get tropical systems in the West Pacific any time of year,” Nicholls said. “But getting them in April is a little unusual.”
Associated Press writers Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.
