Super Typhoon Bavi Strikes Guam and Northern Mariana Islands

Super typhoon Bavi made landfall on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands with sustained winds near 290 km/h and gusts up to 350 km/h. The U.S. National Weather Service said the storm could produce waves nearly 11 m high and warned of catastrophic damage. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center classified Bavi as a super typhoon, a category that requires winds above 240 km/h.

A spokesperson for the mayor's office said residents were experiencing heavy winds and flooding and had reported major damage. On Saipan, airport instruments recorded wind gusts above 161 km/h. Guam opened five evacuation centers in schools with a combined capacity of about 1,700 people.

The island's civil defence office said one site reached capacity by 13:00 local time Sunday and redirected people to another location.

Residents boarded windows and moved to shelters ahead of the storm. One business owner on Guam said she spent $500 on plywood to protect her restaurant. Bavi follows super typhoon Sinlaku, which struck the same islands in April, killing 17 people and causing about $1.5 billion in damage.

Many residents on Saipan remained without power from that earlier storm. Bavi is the 11th category four or five tropical cyclone to affect U.S. Pacific territory in the past decade. Scientists have linked stronger storms in the region to warmer sea-surface temperatures and a strong El Niño event.

>"We are hanging in there.