UNITED STATES – People in Guam and the Northern Marianas moved to emergency evacuation centers and made last-minute preparations on Sunday, hours before a “super typhoon” was projected to bulldoze through the US Pacific territories.
“Significant flooding from torrential rains, and coastal inundation are expected,” the NWS said, with projected waves of up to 35 feet (10.7 meters) -– the height of a 10-storey building — creating “extremely dangerous” conditions at sea.
There were few cars on the roads in Guam on Sunday as heavy rain and strong winds lashed the island.
The Northern Marianas in the western Pacific has a population of around 40,000, and nearby Guam — a separate US territory, although both are part of the Marianas archipelago — about 170,000.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which hit the region in mid-April, knocked out power for tens of thousands of inhabitants, uprooted trees, overturned cars and ripped metal roofs off buildings.
In 2023 another massive typhoon, Mawar, the biggest in decades, caused devastation too.
By Sunday morning, Bavi was forecast to pass nearest to Rota, a small island roughly halfway between Guam and Saipan, the Northern Marianas’ main island and home to around 1,500 people.
“By working together and taking the necessary precautions, we can help protect our families, neighbors and community. We pray for the safety of our people,” Rota mayor Aubry Hocog said.
Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were on the ground in Guam and its distribution center was stocked with 1.1 million liters of water, 1.2 million meals, 6,700 cots and 90 generators.
The NWS said the “window to evacuate or seek shelter is closing”, and Guam opened five evacuation centers in schools with total capacity of 1,900, primarily for those in vulnerable homes.
Authorities had “learned a lot of lessons that came from Mawar” and were better prepared when Sinlaku hit, said local official Damon Michael Borja, noting areas such as electricity and water supply “and just overall the health and safety of our people.”
From “almost three months to get power and water back on for all the places during Mawar, Sinlaku took almost… three weeks,” Borja told AFP at Guam’s Homeland Security headquarters.
The world’s oceans experienced their hottest June on record and could set fresh highs in the months ahead, the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said on Wednesday.
Warmer oceans help tropical storms to intensify and add more moisture, which can fall as heavy rain.
The World Meteorological Organization warned on Friday that El Nino, which typically occurs every two to seven years and lasts nine to 12 months, has already begun in the tropical Pacific and is likely to be strong.
The natural climate phenomenon warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. – AFP
