Typhoon Mawar tore through Guam on Thursday, sending trees and cars toppling and ripping off roofs.
While there were minor injuries, no fatalities were reported, according to Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.
“We now continue to focus our efforts on repairing infrastructure and restoring services to residents,” she said in a statement reported by The Associated Press. “After speaking with department leaders and seeing the incredible rapid response to the storm I am confident we will make significant progresses toward restoration of services.”
The 150,000 residents were advised to stay home and off roads due to strong winds.
EMERGENCY SHELTERS IN GUAM BEGIN TO FILL AS RESIDENTS BRACE FOR TYPHOON MAWAR
This Himawari-9 infrared satellite image taken at 2 p.m. EDT shows Typhoon Mawar passing over Guam, Wednesday, May 24, 2023. (NOAA via AP)
The storm left much of the remote U.S. Pacific territory without power.
Damage was being assessed at military installations and the island received more than two feet of rain, flooding the international airport.
Guam Waterworks Authority had issued a notice advising its customers to boil water, and Guam Power Authority said crews were working to restore power to critical facilities.
The typhoon briefly made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 4 storm.
250 EVACUATED AS GUATEMALA’S VOLCANO OF FIRE ERUPTS
Now a super typhoon, which Fox Weather said had intensified to the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, it is expected to shift northwest and enter the Philippine “area of responsibility” late Friday or early Saturday.
“Typhoon warnings remain in effect for Guam and Rota. Keep in safe shelter until damaging winds subside and the all clear has been given by government officials on Guam and Rota,” the Guam National Weather Service office said in a Wednesday night Facebook post.
The office said there was a flash flood warning in effect early Thursday.
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A super typhoon has maximum sustained winds of 150 mph or stronger, though some places in Asia have lower wind thresholds.
Mawar was the strongest typhoon to hit Guam since 2002.
Guam is a critical hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific and an anonymous official told the news agency that the Navy had ordered the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group to assist in the recovery effort.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
