Super Typhoon Bavi hits US Pacific islands

Super Typhoon Bavi arrived in the US Pacific Island territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas, bringing torrential rain and hurricane-force winds, with the authorities reporting "major" damage.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Bavi made landfall on Monday on Rota, the southernmost island of the Marianas.

"The western eyewall of Super Typhoon Bavi is currently moving over the island of Rota. The latest forecast intensity is at 180 mph (290 kph) as it passes over Rota," the NWS said. "Catastrophic winds exceeding 150 mph will continue across Rota during eyewall passage."

Bavi was forecast to move westwards over the archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean on Monday morning, packing maximum sustained winds of 280 kilometres (173 miles) per hour and gusts of 333 km/h, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

Super typhoons are equivalent to a Category 4 or Category 5 storm, according to the NWS.

The NWS has warned that the "very dangerous" typhoon is expected to cause "catastrophic wind damage" near the storm's eye, as well as storm surges and "hazardous" surf.

What do we know about Bavi's predicted path?

The eye of the storm is expected to pass closest to the island of Rota, which lies between Guam and the Northern Marianas, at around 8 am on Monday (2200 GMT Sunday).

The NWS also said Rota was in store for "extremely dangerous hurricane winds."

"Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to an interior room or shelter NOW!" the agency said in a post on X.

If Bavi does move over or close to Rota, as forecast, much of the area "will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer".

"Many non-concrete, non-reinforced homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse," the NWS said, adding that "nearly all trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed…. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months."

Flash flood warnings were also in effect for Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Marianas, the NWS said.

Most seek shelter but some hit the waves

The two US territories are home to a combined 210,000 people, but the islands' streets were largely deserted on Sunday afternoon as people heeded official advice to seek shelter.

Shops, restaurants and other businesses have been boarded up ahead of the typhoon making landfall on Sunday night or early Monday.

While most of the islands' residents were indoors, around a dozen surfers made the most of the choppy conditions at Guam's Talofofo Bay.

"We are hanging in there. We are experiencing heavy winds and flooding here... Some people already reporting major damages," the Rota Municipal Operations Center's public information officer Lou Rosario said.

Region still reeling from Typhoon Sinlaku

Bavi is set to barrel into the archipelago on Monday morning, with the area still recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku in mid-April.

Sinlaku, the world's strongest tropical cyclone this year, cut off power for tens of thousands of people and caused widespread damage.

Power has yet to be fully restored to parts of the Northern Mariana Islands, with some people living in tents because high winds destroyed their homes.

Another huge typhoon, Mawar, also struck in 2023. That storm was the region's biggest in decades.

Storms worsened by El Nino

June 2026 has seen record temperatures registered in the world's oceans. The European Union warned on Wednesday that more ocean temperature records could be broken in the coming months.

Tropical storms intensify and become wetter when ocean temperatures are higher.

El Nino, which normally occurs every two to seven years, has already begun in the Pacific, the UN's World Meteorology Service said last week.

The weather phenomenon warms ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, affecting global wind and weather patterns.