People living on Guam and nearby U.S. island territories in the western Pacific were told to seek shelter immediately as Super Typhoon Bavi closed in on the region, expected to make landfall early Monday — striking an area that is still healing from a powerful storm that hit earlier this year.
National Weather Service meteorologist Edwin Montvila said Bavi, a massive cyclone moving toward the Mariana Islands east of the Philippines, was on track to hit Rota early Monday morning local time.
“They are currently already encountering catastrophic wind,” Montvila said of Rota, a small territory of fewer than 2,000 residents located northeast of Guam. He added that an extreme wind warning was in place for the island. The storm is forecast to reach category five super typhoon strength, with sustained winds potentially hitting 180 miles (290 kilometers) per hour and gusts up to 215 miles (346 kilometers) per hour.
Beyond Rota, typhoon warnings were also issued for Guam, Tinian, and Saipan, while tropical storm warnings and watches covered other nearby islands.
This storm follows Super Typhoon Sinlaku — the strongest tropical cyclone of the year — which hammered the same island chain back in April with ferocious winds and relentless rainfall. For reference, a cyclone earns super typhoon status when its maximum sustained winds reach at least 150 mph (241 kph).
Montvila described Bavi as posing an “imminent danger to life,” with weather officials directing residents to move immediately to interior rooms in their shelters and stay clear of windows.
“Entering outside can result in death from flying projectiles. Utility poles and associated power lines will be down,” Montvila warned. “All those would pose a risk to life, so we recommend people to not venture out and hunker down.”
The storm was moving at a relatively quick pace Monday morning, giving officials some hope it would pass through without lingering. However, Montvila cautioned that due to the sheer size of Bavi, islands in the area could still be dealing with tropical storm conditions — including heavy rainfall — well into Monday night.
He also noted the typhoon “was a bit erratic” overnight into Monday morning, drifting north and south as it tracked westward toward the islands.
Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero called on residents to remain at home or in a shelter and to stay off the roads.
“Here we are experiencing another severe force of winds on our island, but as we know, we are always ready and prepared in our planning and our protection of our people,” she said in a video she shared on social media Sunday.
