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Super Typhoon Bavi Threatens U.S. Pacific Islands
🇵🇦 Panama /Disasters & Emergencies

Super Typhoon Bavi Threatens U.S. Pacific Islands

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Residents of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are preparing for Super Typhoon Bavi, a powerful storm with sustained winds of up to 259 km/h.
  • The storm, which reached Category 5 strength, is forecast to weaken before making landfall on Monday morning.
  • This event follows Super Typhoon Sinlaku in April, which caused widespread power outages and damage, and highlights concerns about increasingly strong storms due to ocean warming.

Residents of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are bracing for Super Typhoon Bavi, a formidable storm packing sustained winds of up to 259 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching 314 km/h. In Saipan, long queues of vehicles formed at gas stations as residents rushed to hardware stores for plywood to secure their homes and to supermarkets for essential supplies like food and bottled water.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Bavi was moving west between the Marshall Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands by Friday evening. It intensified into a super typhoon, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, on Saturday morning. Forecasters predict the storm will begin to weaken before its expected landfall on Monday morning in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

These U.S. territories are still recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku in April, which left tens of thousands without power, toppled trees, overturned vehicles, and destroyed roofs. "The predicted paths continue to indicate a worrying outlook for the Marianas. All residents of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands should prepare for, at a minimum, tropical storm conditions," warned the U.S. National Weather Service.

The predicted paths continue to indicate a worrying outlook for the Marianas. All residents of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands should prepare for, at a minimum, tropical storm conditions.

— U.S. National Weather ServiceWarning residents about the approaching storm conditions.

The approaching cyclone has overshadowed planned celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the United States, originally scheduled for Saturday. The Northern Mariana Islands have a population of about 40,000, while Guam, an unincorporated U.S. territory, is home to approximately 170,000 people.

"Two super typhoons in two months, that's historic. It's something never seen before in the Marianas," said resident Reymark Castro, who has taped his windows shut and filled his water tanks. Experts point to warming oceans as a factor fueling the strengthening of these meteorological phenomena. According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, June recorded the warmest oceans since measurements began, providing more energy for tropical storms.

Two super typhoons in two months, that's historic. It's something never seen before in the Marianas.

— Reymark CastroA resident describing the unprecedented frequency of super typhoons hitting the region.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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