Super Typhoon Bavi closes in on US Pacific territories

Residents of the US territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are bracing for the impact of Super Typhoon Bavi, a powerful storm packing winds equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.

The storm was moving westward with sustained winds of 269 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching 324 kilometers per hour, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The eye of the typhoon is projected to pass extremely close to the small island of Rota, located between Guam and Saipan, the main island of the Northern Marianas.

Emergency shelters have been opened, and residents are stocking up on essential supplies, aiming to have enough for seven days. Communities are actively securing their homes and preparing for potential landfall. Both Guam and the Northern Marianas have been placed under a state of emergency as authorities urge preparedness.

This is the second super typhoon to threaten the region since April, highlighting the vulnerability of these Pacific territories to extreme weather events. Residents like Arabe from Saipan expressed a mix of fear and resilience, noting, “My girls were saying to me it’s scary, but it will be okay. My house is concrete, so the worst that can happen is a window could blow in.”

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My girls were saying to me it’s scary, but it will be okay. My house is concrete, so the worst that can happen is a window could blow in.