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Super Typhoon Bavi Makes Landfall on Rota With 150 mph Winds
Super Typhoon Bavi struck the Northern Mariana Islands on Monday morning local time. The storm brought Category 5 winds and prompted evacuations and warnings across Guam and nearby islands.
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Super Typhoon Bavi made landfall on the island of Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands on Monday morning local time. The eye of the storm passed over Rota, bringing winds of more than 150 mph equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. Local authorities on Rota received reports of major damages.
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The storm affected the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, territories collectively home to about 210,000 people. Rota lies less than 80 km north of Guam. Typhoon and flash flood warnings were in effect for Guam, Tinian and Saipan, while tropical storm warnings and watches remained in place for other islands.
The US National Weather Service stated the storm could bring at least 20 inches of rain to the region. Guam opened five evacuation centers in its schools with a maximum capacity of around 1,700. One site reached maximum capacity by 13:00 local time on Sunday, and power outages were already reported throughout Guam on Sunday.
Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero urged people to stay home or at a shelter in a video posted on social media on Sunday. Some flights were canceled, the Port Authority of Guam suspended operations, and Andersen Air Force Base restricted access to essential personnel only. The islands could face tropical storm conditions until at least Monday night.
Winds are not forecast to fall below typhoon force until early afternoon on Monday and below tropical storm force until after midnight. The storm has winds of nearly 290 km/h and gusts of 350 km/h. It could cause catastrophic damage with waves potentially nearly 11 m high.
The storm was traveling west at about 9 mph toward the Philippines. The region is still recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which struck Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in mid-April, killing 17 people and causing about $1.5 billion in damage. Bavi is the 11th Category 4 or 5 tropical cyclone to hit US territory in the past decade.
