Typhoon 'Mawar' expected to hit US's Guam with the force of a category 4 hurricane

Typhoon Mawar is expected to hit the US territory of Guam on Wednesday with the force of a Category 4 hurricane, forecasters warned, as authorities urged residents in coastal areas of the Pacific island to seek shelter.

The typhoon, which weakened from Category 5 strength as it approached the region, brought strong winds by about 1 pm local time and was causing power outages. The eye of the storm, which could unleash the most damage, is 60 miles east-southeast of Guam, the National Weather Service said, and conditions could peak between 4 and 6 pm.

Brandon Bukunt, a meteorologist with the weather service in Guam, said the typhoon’s path is “fluid” and it’s difficult to pinpoint when or where the storm could make landfall.

“When you’re dealing with a tiny island in the huge Pacific Ocean, these little details and wobbles of the storm path matter,” he said.

A typhoon warning was in effect for Guam and Rota, a nearby US island, the weather service said. Guam has a population of more than 150,000 people, many of whom live in coastal communities.

Residents remaining on Guam who were not in concrete or concrete-reinforced structures were urged to go to emergency shelters. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero had ordered residents in the island’s low-lying coastal areas to evacuate by 6 pm Tuesday local time.

President Joe Biden declared an emergency for Guam on Tuesday night, allowing the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist with relief efforts.

“You’re running out of time,” forecasters said in an update. “Do not venture outside until the Government of Guam gives the all clear, which will happen sometime on Thursday.”

Emergency shelters were at 22 per cent capacity as of early Wednesday morning, officials said. No flights were allowed to or from the territory Wednesday because conditions were already too dangerous. Tourists wanting to leave the island had to have left by Tuesday on a plane, while most residents, who are accustomed to such storms, were prepared to ride out the typhoon.

Mawar, which had been strengthening Tuesday, lost its Super Typhoon status, which requires winds of 150 mph or higher, as its winds decreased Wednesday. Forecasters said it’s possible that the storm could intensify as the eye approaches Guam.

The eye of Mawar was about 60 miles east-southeast of Guam by 10:30 am local time Wednesday, the weather service said. Mawar’s winds were expected to be around 140 mph, with gusts more than 170 mph.

The typhoon winds were expected throughout the region until about 10 pm local time, forecasters said, and then tropical storm-force winds, classified as 39 mph or more, were likely to remain overnight.

The typhoon, which was moving northwest at 6 mph, will likely pass “just south or directly over Guam” on Wednesday, the weather service said, bringing not only high winds but also life-threatening storm surges and nearly 2 feet of rain to some areas.

If the storm moves over the island, Bukunt said that because the typhoon is moving so slowly, it could cause landslides and increase the chances of flooding.

Authorities said Tuesday that Anderson Air Force Base would close its gates at 10 p.m. and that several military facilities on the island were in a “condition of readiness” for the storm.

The US military controls roughly one-third of the island, and Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, Joint Region Marianas commander, authorized the evacuation of defense personnel, dependents and employees in areas expected to be affected, according to The Associated Press.

All ships were moved out to sea as a standard precaution, according to the Navy, and any military personnel remaining on the island were sheltering in place. About 6,800 US service members are assigned to Guam, according to the Pentagon, the outlet reported.

Guam has a long history of enduring powerful storms. In December 2022, Super Typhoon Pongsona came ashore with Category 4 winds that reached about 150 mph, causing more than $700 million in damage.

In recent years, damage and deaths have been minimized because of stronger building codes and advanced warnings. No one died, for example, when Typhoon Paka lashed the north portion of the island for hours with 140 mph winds in December 1997.

In October 2018, Super Typhoon Yutu directly hit the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Pacific just northeast of Guam. Its 170-mph winds destroyed dozens of homes and left communities devastated.

The difference between a typhoon and a hurricane is in name only, and based on geography. Typhoons are tropical cyclones that develop in the northwestern Pacific and affect Asia. Elsewhere, they are called hurricanes.

Typhoons can form year-round but are most common from May to October.

Mawar, a Malaysian name that means “rose,” is the second named storm in the western Pacific this season. The first, Tropical Storm Sanvu, weakened in less than two days