Super Typhoon Sinlaku is taking aim at the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, with the National Weather Service warning that the storm could bring widespread rain, flooding and dangerous wind conditions as it moves through the area late Tuesday local time. Guam, a U.S. territory with about 170,000 residents and several military installations, was not expected to take a direct hit, but the Weather Service said heavy rain and tropical storm-force wind gusts were still expected hours before the storm’s arrival.
The storm’s projected impact centers on Rota, Tinian and Saipan, where Sinlaku is on track to pass as a high-category typhoon, according to the Weather Service. Officials also said the storm’s conditions raise the risk of lengthy power outages, reflecting how quickly wind and flood damage can disrupt electrical systems in remote island communities.
As Sinlaku neared the islands, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported sustained winds of 173 mph (278 kph) on Monday. While the system was expected to weaken somewhat in the following days, it was still forecast to cross the islands as a Category 4 or 5 typhoon, the Weather Service said.
Joshua Schank, a lead meteorologist in Guam for the National Weather Service, said the typhoon has largely stayed on a track that would send it over or just skirting along Tinian and Saipan. “We sit in what they call ‘Typhoon Alley,’” said Glen Hunter, who grew up on Saipan, describing how strong gusts and downed trees woke residents early Tuesday.
The Weather Service said island residents were being urged to stay home as the storm arrived, with the island already seeing heavy rains and wind gusts up to 60 mph (96 kph) very early Tuesday, Schank said. Hunter said many residents on Saipan and surrounding islands live in sturdy concrete homes, while those in substandard wooden structures with tin roofs were more likely to stay with family or move to government shelters.
Guam officials and U.S. military leaders warned personnel to prepare for the storm and shelter in place, the Associated Press reported. The military controls about one-third of the land on Guam, where Typhoon Mawar knocked out power for days in 2023, officials said, underscoring the potential for repeat disruptions during Sinlaku’s approach.
Before turning toward Guam and the Northern Marianas, Sinlaku left significant damage to outer islands and atolls of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, said Landon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the Weather Service on Guam. Hunter also pointed to the long recovery timeline facing Saipan, noting the island was still recovering from Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018 when the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, and that the economy had not fully rebounded.
On the federal response side, President Donald Trump approved emergency disaster declarations for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands on Saturday, enabling additional help with emergency services, FEMA said. FEMA said it is coordinating support across multiple agencies, dispatching almost 100 FEMA staff as well as personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Robert Fenton, a FEMA regional administrator, told reporters from Guam on Monday afternoon local time that the agency was “ready to respond to this event.” FEMA said it began preparing supplies and staff late last week, adding that the response effort continues despite a record-long Department of Homeland Security shutdown, with FEMA’s emergency response functions running during the funding impasse and a disaster relief fund that the agency said had about $3.6 billion at the end of March.
Associated Press reporters Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed.