‘Super typhoon’ Bavi heads for US Pacific islands

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands – People in Guam and the Northern Marianas hunkered down on July 4 as the second “super typhoon” to hit the US Pacific territories since April approached with the equivalent of category-5 hurricane winds.

Bavi was several hundred kilometres east of the archipelago with sustained winds of 259kmh, and gusts of 314kmh, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said in an update at 7am Guam time.

“Current forecast tracks continue to indicate a grim outlook for the Marianas,” the US National Weather Service warned. “All residents across Guam and the (Northern Mariana Islands) should plan for and anticipate at least tropical storm conditions.”

The islands’ roughly 200,000 inhabitants have queued at petrol stations in recent days and thronged hardware stores to buy plywood and supermarkets for food, bottled water and other essentials.

Plans for celebrating the United States’s 250th anniversary on July 4 have been quickly overtaken by storm preparations, with both Guam and the Northern Marianas declaring a state of emergency.

Workers at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan resort were boarding up windows, securing outdoor furniture and equipment, checking alarm systems and stocking first aid kits on July 3.

“Everyone has a role,” the resort’s sports, entertainment and activities manager Reymark Castro, 35, told AFP.

“From engineering to landscaping to operations, we’re all working together to reduce damage and make sure we’re ready to respond once the storm passes.”

The Northern Marianas archipelago is home to around 40,000 people, and nearby Guam – a separate US territory – around 170,000. Major battles were fought in the area in World War II.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which hit in mid-April, knocked out power for tens of thousands of people, uprooted trees, overturned cars and ripped metal roofs off buildings.

A cargo ship, the MV Mariana, suffered engine failure and overturned in the storm. The body of one crew member was recovered and five others were missing, presumed dead.

“Some locals remain in temporary shelters or under makeshift roofs, while damaged seawalls continue to heighten concerns about storm surge,” said the American Red Cross, which was deploying disaster teams and relief supplies ahead of Bavi’s arrival.

Castro said he had sealed windows at his home with duct tape and filled up extra water containers.

“Two super typhoons in two months, in the same year, is a historic event,” he said.

“Never before seen, for the Marianas at least.”

The world’s oceans experienced their hottest June on record and could set fresh highs in the months ahead, the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said on July 1.

Warmer oceans help tropical storms to intensify and add more moisture, which can fall as heavy rain.

The onset of a potentially powerful El Nino weather pattern could boost global heat in the oceans and atmosphere even further in 2026 and into 2027, scientists say.

The natural climate phenomenon warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.

The World Meteorological Organization warned on July 3 that El Nino, which typically occurs every two to seven years and lasts nine to 12 months, has already begun in the tropical Pacific.

The United Nations’ weather and climate agency said El Nino conditions were forecast to “strengthen rapidly over the coming months, increasing the likelihood of... extreme weather events in many parts of the world.” AFP