A dangerous powerful hurricane is heading in the Pacific Ocean towards a group of remote American islands.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku The hurricane is expected to make landfall Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring with it damaging winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said Monday.
Guam, a US territory with US military installations, is expected to experience damaging winds starting Monday and is under a tropical storm warning. The US Coast Guard issued flood and high wind warnings over the weekend.
The tropical cyclone — the strongest on Earth so far this year — was producing sustained winds of 173 mph (278 kph) on Monday as it approached the islands of Rota, Tinian and Saipan, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
While it is expected to weaken slightly over the next few days, Sinlaku should pass near the islands as a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.
On Guam, where Hurricane Mawar lost power for several days in 2023, U.S. military officials warned individuals to prepare for the storm and to shelter in place.
President Donald Trump on Saturday approved a state of emergency declaration for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, allowing additional assistance to emergency services.
A supercyclone is the name given to the strongest tropical cyclones that form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where the most intense storms on Earth typically form.
Supercyclones, monitored by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center on Guam, are equivalent to Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, with winds of at least 150 mph (240 kph). More than 300 supertornadoes have been recognized since the warning center began using that name in 1947.