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A massive storm slowly battered several remote US islands in the Pacific Ocean with strong winds and incessant rain, tearing down tin roofs and forcing residents to take shelter in flying tree trunks.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku hit the Northern Mariana Islands hours before dawn on Wednesday, moving slowly to wreak havoc on the islands of Tinian and Saipan, home to nearly 50,000 people.
“I don’t think anything that was made of wood and tile would have survived this,” said Glen Hunter, who grew up on Saipan and watched at least three planes fly from his backyard.
Hunter, who has experienced many hurricanes, told The Associated Press that this felt like the strongest one yet. He said the rain was seeping through every crack in his concrete house.
“It was a failed battle because the rain was coming everywhere,” he said early Wednesday. “The whole house is just flooded, no matter what type of building you’re in.”
The strongest storm on Earth this year – it was packed with strong winds of up to 240 km/h when it hit the islands, said the US National Weather Service.
Strong winds and heavy rain also led to flooding in Guam, the southernmost US territory with many US military bases and about 170,000 residents, the weather service said.
Although the storm slowed in the Mariana Islands early Wednesday, conditions did not improve immediately, the weather service reported.
“It hits us hard,” said Mayor Ramon (RB) Jose Blas Camacho of Saipan on Tuesday night. “It is very difficult for us to respond to this heavy rain, strong wind to rescue people. Things are flying left and right.”
Trees were thrown everywhere and wooden and tile buildings collapsed. He was shocked looking at the glass door of his office.
“It just bends. It’s so strong,” he said.
The storm is moving slowly, increasing the risk of widespread damage
Major storms are equivalent to Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with winds of at least 240 km/h. There have been more than 300 typhoons identified in the past 80 years by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam.
Hurricanes are “very common” in the Pacific, but the peak season is similar to the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from summer to fall, said Jason Nicholls, lead international forecaster for AccuWeather.
“As we’ve seen this year, you can find tropical systems in the Western Pacific at any time of the year,” Nicholls said. “But to find them in April is unusual.”
A monster storm slows to a crawl as it approaches the islands.
“This is not going to be an easy night for anyone beyond Tinian or Saipan. This is going to be a loud night,” said Landon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the weather service. Many people will “wake up and go to a different island,” he said in a Facebook video broadcast.
Saipan is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands and its capital, known for its resorts, snorkeling and golf.
The worst storm hit during the dark and was expected to last for several hours until sunrise on Wednesday, the weather service said. Although it is expected to weaken slightly over the next few days, Sinlaku has been moving across the islands as a Category 4 typhoon.
In Guam, where Hurricane Mawar knocked out power for days in 2023, US military officials warned workers to evacuate the area. The military controls about one-third of the land in Guam, a critical US military base in the Pacific.
Before turning toward the Northern Mariana Islands, the storm left significant damage in the outer islands and Chuuk Islands in the Federated States of Micronesia, Aydlett said at his weather station in Guam.
In the US, President Donald Trump authorized emergency disaster declarations ahead of the recent hurricanes in Guam and the Mariana Islands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is coordinating support across multiple agencies, deploying about 100 FEMA personnel and other personnel.
