Residents of Guam woke up Thursday to assess the damage after a long night of strong winds and lightning from Typhoon Mawar, which made its closest approach late Wednesday night and blacked out the U.S. Pacific region. left without
The Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, peaked “just before midnight” on Wednesday, according to National Weather Service meteorologists in Guam, making landfall at 2 a.m. local time. Released the update via live stream at on Thursday.
“Many of us have had a sleepless night so far as the situation in Guam has been going on for too long, starting early yesterday afternoon.” said the meteorologist during a live stream published on the weather service’s Facebook page. The good news, he said, was that conditions were “starting to ease” as the storm moved out of the Mariana Islands, of which Guam is the southernmost and largest area in the Pacific Ocean.
During a live stream to island residents Wednesday night, Guam Gov. Leon Guerrero urged people to stay home “for your safety and your protection” until the situation is resolved. Not considered safe. As she spoke into the camera, there was the sound of howling winds and rustling sounds in the background.
“What we’re seeing right now is Rota moving over the channel and the hardest of the storm’s winds that we’re facing, more to the north,” he added. said, “I will assess it. The destruction of our island as soon as it is safe for me to go out.”
A spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Twitter that the agency had activated its contact center to assist Guam and the Mariana Islands after the storm.
Weather service forecasters warned that the storm was the strongest to hit Guam in years and would continue to pack tropical storm-force winds before weakening Thursday. The storm had moved 45 miles northwest of Guam by 1 a.m. local time, but typhoon warnings remained in effect and were expected to extend through most of the morning, local time. Accordingly, another update on weather conditions is expected by 8 am. .
The Guam Power Authority said the island’s energy grid was providing power to only 1,000 of its approximately 52,000 customers Wednesday afternoon, and that it was too dangerous for repair crews to get out. It had not updated those figures as of Thursday morning in Guam.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. But the storm was so strong that it knocked out wind sensors and radar equipment that sends weather data to the local weather service office — and toppled all but two coconut trees outside the building, including one “Our precious mango tree,” said the prophet. on the property.
“Reassure your children,” forecasters warned during Wednesday’s briefing. “You can hear voices, winds blowing, things breaking. Just hang in there.”
The 150,000 or so people who live on Guam, an island about the size of Chicago about 1,500 miles east of the Philippines, are used to tropical storms. The last major one, Super Typhoon Pongsona, made landfall in 2002 with Category 4 hurricane strength. Over $700 million was lost..
Stronger building codes and other developments have reduced damage and deaths from major hurricanes on Guam in recent years. In most cases, “we just barbecue, chill, adapt,” said Wayne Chargwaloff, 45, who works for the local government’s housing authority.
But because Pongsona has been around for so long, “we have a whole generation that has never experienced it,” he added. “So I started to have a little doubt. Are we really ready for this?”
Weather officials said Wednesday night the center of the storm was moving northwest over the northern part of Guam.
“The center doesn’t need to make landfall to get catastrophic or really impressive scenarios,” Brendan Bucknett, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Guam, said by phone.
The storm slowed to about eight miles per hour Wednesday night, raising the possibility of significant rainfall and flooding. Oh Mountain area flood warning was in effect as of Thursday morning, and the Weather Service said in an update Up to 25 inches of rain is expected in some areas. A high wind warning remained in effect Wednesday night, with gusts of 115 mph or more expected. Guam is 14 hours ahead of Eastern Time.
President Biden on Tuesday An emergency was declared. For Guam, Authorizing federal agencies to assist in relief efforts. Local authorities also issued evacuation orders and grounded commercial aviation.
The storm was also affecting the United States military, which has several major installations on the island. All military aircraft either left the island ahead of the storm or were placed in protective hangars, Lt. Cmdr. Katie Koenig of the U.S. Navy said in a statement Wednesday. He said all the military ships had also left, except for one which was docked in port with engine failure.
are called tropical cyclones. A typhoon or hurricane It depends on where they come from. Typhoons, which form from May to October, are tropical storms that develop in the northwest Pacific Ocean and affect Asia. Climate change, the study says An increase in the intensity of such stormsand the potential for extinction, as warmer oceans provide more energy that fuels them.
Mawar, a Malaysian name meaning “rose”, is the second named storm to hit the western Pacific this season. the first, Tropical Cyclone Sanobecame weak in less than two days.
Mawar expected. Head to the Philippines. Over the next few days, but not before leaving a path of destruction in Guam.
Carlo Sgembelluri Pangelinan, 42, who sells container homes at a store in Barrigada Heights, a hilly, affluent neighborhood near Guam’s international airport, said he doubted the storm would be worse than expected. He has passed.
Still, he added, he worries about people who don’t have adequate shelter, and about animals whose owners aren’t there to care for them. Forecasters on Wednesday night repeatedly urged residents to stay in shelters until Thursday morning.
Population of the island Primarily Catholic., and the Roman Catholic Church in Guam said in a message to its congregation on Wednesday that the fear and anxiety on the island was understandable, as Super Typhoon Pongsona left an “indelible impression” that still lingers more than 20 years later. can be felt. later on
“There is good to be found in the midst of storms,” the message said.
John Yoon, Victoria Kim, McKenna Oxendon And Jin Yoo Young Cooperation reporting.
