Super Typhoon Bavi Strikes US Pacific Islands

Super Typhoon Bavi has arrived in the US Pacific Island territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas, bringing dangerous winds and heavy rain to the region. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the storm made landfall on Monday on Rota, the southernmost island of the Marianas. The NWS described Bavi as a powerhouse storm, noting that its intensity reached 180 miles per hour as it passed over the island. This level of strength makes it equivalent to a Category 5 storm, the highest level on the scale used to measure hurricane intensity.

The NWS warned that the storm would cause catastrophic damage to the area. Officials stated that many homes not built with concrete or reinforced materials would likely be destroyed, with roofs failing and walls collapsing. Furthermore, the agency predicted that nearly all trees would be snapped or uprooted, and power poles would be knocked down. These conditions are expected to cause power outages that could last for weeks or even months. The NWS urged residents to treat the extreme winds as if a tornado were approaching and to move immediately to an interior room or a safe shelter.

Local authorities have been preparing for the storm for several days. Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero moved the island into a state of emergency readiness on Sunday, advising residents to stay off the roads and out of the water. Across the affected islands, shops and businesses were boarded up, and many residents sought safety in emergency shelters. According to NPR, these shelters have been nearing capacity, and some locations have even had to turn people away. While most residents followed official advice to stay indoors, some people were seen surfing in Guam’s Talofofo Bay despite the dangerous conditions.

This new disaster is particularly difficult because the region is still recovering from previous storms. In mid-April, Super Typhoon Sinlaku hit the area, causing widespread destruction. According to reports, many people in the Northern Mariana Islands are still living without power two-and-a-half months after that event, and some are still living in tents because their homes were destroyed. Landon Aydlett, a local NWS meteorologist, noted that the outlook for the region is very grim, especially for vulnerable communities that are still trying to rebuild from the damage caused by Sinlaku and the 2023 storm, Mawar.

Weather experts have linked the intensity of these storms to rising ocean temperatures. June 2026 saw record-breaking heat in the world's oceans, and the European Union has warned that more records may be broken soon. Tropical storms generally become stronger and wetter when ocean temperatures are higher. Additionally, the weather pattern known as El Nino, which occurs every few years, has begun in the Pacific, further influencing the climate in the region.

As of Monday morning, the situation remained critical across the islands of Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan. Flash flood warnings were in effect for these areas, and the Port Authority of Guam suspended all operations. Many schools and hospitals could also be affected by the storm’s path. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that the storm was moving westwards across the archipelago with maximum sustained winds of 280 kilometers per hour. Officials continue to advise that people must stay inside and hunker down, as it remains too dangerous to go outside while the storm passes through the islands.