Super Typhoon Bavi made landfall Monday over a tiny U.S. territorial island in the western Pacific near Guam, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain to the Northern Mariana Islands.

Storm Details

The eye of the storm passed over the island of Rota Monday morning local time, bringing winds of more than 150 mph, according to the National Weather Service. It was traveling at around 9 mph west toward the Philippines, the weather service said.

“Hang tight,” National Weather Service meteorologist Brandon Aydlett said. “We’re coming just out of the peak of conditions. It’s going to be a slow improvement, but improvement is coming.”

The storm impacted other parts of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, as well as Guam. The area was still recovering from another destructive cyclone that struck in April.

Impact and Preparations

On the island of Saipan, the international airport recorded wind gusts of more than 100 mph, the weather service said. Many people living in Saipan and nearby Tinian had been without power since the Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the agency said.

Bavi was a Category 5 super typhoon with winds that could reach 180 mph per hour and gusts of 215 mph per hour, said weather service meteorologist Edwin Montvila.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero urged people to stay home or at a shelter. “Here we are experiencing another severe force of winds on our island, but as we know, we are always ready and prepared in our planning and our protection of our people,” she said in a video posted on social media Sunday.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.