Super Typhoon Bavi prompts evacuations across Guam and Marianas

Emergency evacuations were under way in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands on Sunday as Super Typhoon Bavi approached the U.S. Pacific territories with winds forecast to reach Category 5 strength, torrential rain and waves as high as 35 feet.

The U.S. National Weather Service said Bavi was moving west toward the Marianas and was expected to pass through the islands Monday morning as a “very dangerous category 5 super typhoon.” Forecasts put sustained winds at about 257 to 260 km/h, or 160 to 162 mph, with gusts potentially far higher. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, part of the U.S. Navy, classified Bavi as a super typhoon and predicted winds of 150 knots, or 173 mph, with gusts up to 180 knots, or 207 mph, as it reached the islands.

“Significant flooding from torrential rains and coastal inundation are expected,” the Weather Service said. It warned that destructive conditions could arrive eight to 10 hours before or after the storm’s center passes and said waves could reach nearly 11 metres, or 35 feet, creating extremely dangerous seas.

“The window is rapidly closing to evacuate if directed to do so by local officials, or if your home is vulnerable to high winds or flooding,” the agency said, adding that winds “will pose a deadly threat to those venturing outside.”

Guam, a tourist destination with about 170,000 residents, opened five evacuation centers in schools, with total capacity of around 1,700 people and priority for vulnerable residents. The island’s civil defense office said one site had already reached capacity by 1 p.m. local time Sunday and that people were being redirected elsewhere. The Northern Mariana Islands have about 40,000 residents.

Heavy rain and strong winds were already lashing Guam on Sunday, leaving few cars on the roads as residents boarded up buildings and moved into shelters. Pinky Cubacub, 55, told AFP she had lined up early Saturday to buy $500 worth of plywood to cover the windows of her eatery.

“I cannot afford to lose so many days. It hurts,” she said. “Whatever we’re making right now is just for rent, utilities, my staff and supplies. I don’t even pay myself yet.”

Arabella Paulino, a 48-year-old call center employee, said her children were frightened. “My girls were saying to me it’s scary. But it will be OK. My house is concrete, so the worst that can happen is a window could blow in,” she told AFP.

Japanese tourist Miku Sakurai, 25, said her scheduled return flight to Tokyo on Sunday had been canceled. “We will stay in the hotel when the storm comes. I am scared,” she told AFP.

Bavi was forecast to pass closest to Rota, a small island between Guam and Saipan with about 1,500 residents. If the storm tracks near or over Rota, the Weather Service said much of the area “will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer,” with many non-concrete or non-reinforced homes destroyed, trees snapped or uprooted and power outages lasting “for weeks to possibly months.”

The region has already faced severe storms this year. Super Typhoon Sinlaku hit in April, knocking out power for tens of thousands, uprooting trees and tearing roofs from buildings. The BBC reported that Sinlaku killed 17 people and caused about $1.5 billion in damage. Al Jazeera reported that Typhoon Mawar caused similar devastation in 2023.

The western Pacific is prone to tropical cyclones, though storms of Bavi’s strength are unusual for the U.S. islands. The BBC reported that Bavi would be the 11th Category 4 or 5 tropical cyclone to hit U.S. territory in the past decade, exceeding the total recorded in the previous 57 years. Scientists say climate change is making powerful typhoons more common, and a strong El Niño is expected to push more tropical storms into higher intensities.