Guam hit by Typhoon Mawar, most of the island without power
Super Typhoon Mawar hit the northern edge of Guam on Wednesday with 140 mph winds, driving rain and lightning, the National Weather Service saidand cut off electricity to most of the island.
The storm appears to have passed through the Rota Channel area near Andersen Air Force Base, the weather service said in a Facebook live broadcast. He apparently damaged or disconnected the wind speed indicators after measuring winds of around 104 mph.
Guam is a US Pacific Ocean territory home to approximately 170,000 Americans, approximately 6,000 miles west of Los Angeles.
The worst of the storm hit the island in the afternoon, knocking out power to most residents and businesses, and continued with high winds overnight. Authorities warned residents to stay indoors as high winds continued and flash flooding was forecast. Satellite radar showed winds from the storm up to 140 mph, the weather service said.
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the weather service said in a broadcast.
“We are in the line of fire”:Guam braces for direct hit from Super Typhoon Mawar
Forecasters feared the storm could land directly over the island, but it appeared to have moved gradually northward as it approached. The island is approximately 30 miles long and 12 miles at its widest point.
Typhoon Mawar cuts power
The Guam Power Authority reported that most of the island lost power shortly after 1 p.m. local time Wednesday, and only 1,000 of its roughly 52,000 customers still had power.
Before the storm arrived, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration. Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said on social media that the statement would support resource mobilization in Guam, which is “especially critical given our distance from the continental United States.”
The U.S. military also turned ships away as the storm approached. Guam is a crucial hub for US forces in the Pacific, and the Department of Defense controls about a third of the island. All ships were moved out to sea as a standard precaution, the navy said, and all personnel remaining on the island were sheltering in place. About 6,800 US military personnel are assigned to Guam, according to the Pentagon.
Authorities have urged residents to seek refuge in sturdy buildings or designated emergency shelters and bring a week’s worth of food and water, an indication of how long they think it may take to restore services in some areas. regions.
What is the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?
A typhoon is the same type of storm as a hurricane. They are both tropical cyclones. The only difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is where the storm occurs, according to the National Ocean Service.
Typhoons form in the western Pacific Ocean, while hurricanes form in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
What is a “super” typhoon?
A typhoon becomes a “super” typhoon when its maximum sustained winds reach 150 mph. This equates to a powerful Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale.
Where is Guam?
Guam is a United States island territory located in the Micronesia region of the western Pacific Ocean, nearly 3,800 miles west of Honolulu. Its residents are US citizens, but they cannot vote for president and have no voting members of Congress.
The United States acquired Guam at the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898 and used it extensively as a military base to control the Pacific Ocean. It was occupied by the Japanese army for three years during World War II and recaptured by the United States in the summer of 1944, allowing bombers to attack the Japanese mainland afterwards.
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