Share 0 email Print

Super Typhoon Yutu is currently making its passage over the Marianas, posing most threat to the islands of Saipan and Tinian. As Yutu moves past the Saipan-Tinian Channel, residents, especially those living in the southern part of Saipan and northern region of Tinian, will begin to feel the intensity of the storm. Sustained winds of 165-175 mph with gusts up to over 200 mph may be expected for the next two hours.

Super Typhoon Yutu is being classified as a dangerous Category 5 typhoon, making it an extremely dangerous and life-threatening hazard for the islands of Saipan and Tinian. For the next 2-3 hours, residents can also anticipate lightning and flash flooding. HSEM continues to urge the community to remain indoors and brace for worst conditions lasting until 3AM.

After 3am, wind strength will begin to dissipate to tropical storm-force winds of 60 mph with gusts up to 75-85 mph. These conditions will continue to pose a threat to the residents of Saipan and Tinian, and should not be taken lightly.

Upon daybreak, conditions will begin to improve.

At this time, HSEM reminds the public to remain indoors until the “All Clear” has been issued by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres. Remain off roadways to allow first responders to clear debris and attend to those who need assistance most.

More updates will be provided as they become available. (HSEM)</s>The Earth's strongest storm this year is about to strike U.S. territories in the western Pacific Ocean.

A strengthening Super Typhoon Yutu, with sustained winds of 180 m.p.h. (290 km/h), is on a trek through the Northern Mariana Islands.

The storm is roaring across the islands of Saipan and Tinian, both U.S. territories, and will become among the most intense storms — if not the most — on record to impact U.S. soil.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center now considers Yutu an incredibly strong Category 5 equivalent typhoon. Because reconnaissance planes do not fly in the western Pacific to directly measure conditions inside storms, the intensity of 180 m.p.h., or 155 knots, is based on estimates from satellites.

Meteorologist Ryan Maue of WeatherModels.com tweeted that the storm would be a "Category 6 if Atlantic scale was extrapolated."

According to Phil Klotzbach of The Washington Post, Yutu is "tied with Mangkhut for the strongest storm of the 2018 season to date." If it strengthens further, Yutu will rank among the all-time most intense storms ever recorded.

"This is an historically significant event," tweeted Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

While the western Pacific is where the world's most powerful tropical cyclones tend to form, Yutu's strength is likely to be unprecedented in modern history for the Northern Mariana Islands. The islands are home to slightly more than 50,000 people, a majority of whom live in the largest, northernmost island of Saipan.

Yutu is passing through the island chain. In Saipan, wind gusts to hurricane force have been recorded, and much worse will move through as the eye of the storm passes. Gusts could top 200 m.p.h.

A terrifying, grating wind can be heard in audio of a live EarthCam broadcasting from the island. As the storm approached Saipan, the pressure was plummeting at an astonishing rate.</s>Super Typhoon Yutu is the strongest typhoon of record to pass over the islands of Saipan and Tinian in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Yutu is the latest in a series of tropical cyclone that have intensified incredibly fast, strengthening from a Category 1 to Category 5 storm in under a day. NASA says Super Typhoon Yutu struck the US territory with sustained winds of up to 180mph and wind gusts up to 219 miles per hour. The storm strengthened into the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 280 kph (174mph) before hitting the island and the storm is now tracking northwest toward the Philippines and Taiwan.

Mayor of Titian and Aguigan, Joey Patrick San Nicolas, said: “Titian has been devastated by Typhoon Yutu. “Many homes have been destroyed, our critical infrastructure has been compromised. We currently have no power and water at this time.” Yutu could eventually threatened the Philippines, Taiwan or southern Japan next week as the storm tracks across the open waters of the western Pacific Ocean. The super typhoon will gradually weaken as it moves west-northwestward into the Philippine Sea but will remain a potent Category 3 or 4 equivalent typhoon into early next week.

It remains too soon to be sure if Yutu will strike Taiwan or if it will curl sharply northeastward out to sea. Yutu is the strongest super typhoon to pass near Saipan and Titian in NOAA’s historical database. Prior to Yutu, only three other Category 5 super typhoons had passed within 75 miles of the islands. Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands authorities issued a weather warning late on Wednesday, cautioning residents on Saipan and Titian that storm surges “pose life-threatening risk for those living along the coast.”

Surges of five to seven feet were recorded for those islands. Images and footage from Saipan and Tituan showed broken windows, debris scattered across roads and damaging vehicles, with some overturned. The two islands were “bracing for months without electricity or running water”. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, the Marianas' delegate to the U.S. Congress, on Twitter said authorities were working to open more shelters as existing ones were either full or had sustained damage. He said it was likely a team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would arrive on Friday.</s>The Earth’s strongest storm this year is about to strike U.S. territories in the western Pacific Ocean.

A strengthening Super Typhoon Yutu, with sustained winds of 180 mph, is on a trek through the Northern Mariana Islands.

The storm is roaring across the islands of Saipan and Tinian, both U.S. territories, and will become among the most intense storms – if not the most – on record to impact U.S. soil.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center now considers Yutu an incredibly strong Category 5 equivalent typhoon. Because reconnaissance planes do not fly in the western Pacific to directly measure conditions inside storms, the intensity of 180 mph, or 155 knots, is based on estimates from satellites.

Meteorologist Ryan Maue of WeatherModels.com tweeted that the storm would be a “Category 6 if Atlantic scale was extrapolated.”

According to Phil Klotzbach of The Washington Post, Yutu is “tied with Mangkhut for the strongest storm of the 2018 season to date.” If it strengthens further, Yutu will rank among the all-time most intense storms ever recorded.

“This is an historically significant event,” tweeted Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

While the western Pacific is where the world’s most powerful tropical cyclones tend to form, Yutu’s strength is likely to be unprecedented in modern history for the Northern Mariana Islands. The islands are home to slightly more than 50,000 people, a majority of whom live in the largest, northernmost island of Saipan.

Yutu is passing through the island chain. In Saipan, wind gusts to hurricane force have been recorded, and much worse will move through as the eye of the storm passes. Gusts could top 200 mph.

A terrifying, grating wind can be heard in audio of a live EarthCam broadcasting from the island. As the storm approached Saipan, the pressure was plummeting at an astonishing rate.

The islands of Tinian and Saipan are taking the eyewall of the right-front quadrant of Yutu, which is typically where a storm’s most severe conditions are found. Extreme destruction and suffering in both the short and long term should be anticipated in these areas.

The National Weather Service’s advisory for the islands conveyed a dire message, warning of “devastating damage” from the “collapse of residential structures,” partial or total destruction of industrial and apartment buildings, and loss of water and electricity for days to weeks.

In addition to winds that will flatten structures and forests, a storm surge as high as 20 feet is possible in the hardest-hit coastal locations. Storm surge acts as a storm-driven tsunami, and the 20 feet of surge doesn’t count battering waves. Rainfall approaching or surpassing one foot is likely to also lead to freshwater flooding and landslides.

It’s a classic and absolutely textbook storm on satellite, resembling a buzz saw. You don’t see them much more intense

After passing the Mariana Islands, Yutu is likely to maintain an intensity close to its peak for the next day or two before slowly weakening as it moves into the Philippine Sea. Models are mixed on whether Yutu will strike more land at that point. The Philippines to Japan should certainly keep an eye out</s>The earth's strongest storm this year is about to strike US territories in the western Pacific Ocean.

A strengthening Super Typhoon Yutu, with sustained winds of 290km/h, is on a trek through the Northern Mariana Islands.

The storm is roaring across the islands of Saipan and Tinian, both US territories, and will become one of the most intense storms - if not the most - on record to impact US soil.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre now considers Yutu an incredibly strong category 5 equivalent typhoon. Because reconnaissance planes do not fly in the western Pacific to measure conditions inside storms, the intensity of 290km/h is based on estimates from satellites.

Meteorologist Ryan Maue of WeatherModels.com tweeted that the storm would be a "Category 6 if Atlantic scale was extrapolated".</s>Super Typhoon Yutu is on its way to Southeast Asia, after devastating part of the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. "Many homes have been destroyed," says the mayor of Tinian, an island in the U.S. Pacific territory.

Yutu brought sustained winds of at least 165 to 175 mph when it passed directly over the islands of Tinian and Saipan on Wednesday. As it heads west, it's still packing winds of 165 mph — an intensity that it is expected to maintain through Friday, according to emergency officials in the Marianas.

"We just went through one of the worst storms I've seen," said Gerald J. Deleon Guerrero, a special assistant in the Northern Mariana Islands' Emergency Management Agency, in a bulletin about the storm.

Yutu is now heading west-northwest toward the northern portion of the Philippines. Weather officials in Taiwan are also monitoring the storm.

Outlying parts of the Philippines could see its first tropical cyclone warning "as early as Monday morning," the country's weather agency says.

By that time, the storm's name will likely have changed. Yutu was initially named by the Japan Meteorological Agency — but the Philippines has its own naming system, and when Yutu crosses into the country's area of responsibility in the Pacific Ocean, it will be renamed Rosita.

On Tinian, Mayor Joey San Nicolas said in a video posted to Facebook that the island "has been devastated."

"Our critical infrastructure has been compromised, we currently have no power and water."

The island's ports and other points are inaccessible, San Nicolas said, adding that emergency crews are working to help people who need to leave their homes and move into shelters.

"We have been hit hard," San Nicolas said. As he spoke, water could be heard dripping in his office.

The rebuilding process will be long and tough, says Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, the commonwealth's delegate to Congress.

"There's a lot of damage and destruction," Sablan said in an interview with The Associated Press from Saipan. "It's like a small war just passed through."

The powerful storm tore up roofs and downed trees and power lines in the Marianas. Describing the emergency response, Guerrero said, "Our focus is on deploying resources to clear our roadways so first responders can begin assisting residents who have lost their homes and for those who need transport to seek medical attention or transportation to the nearest shelter."

Yutu slammed into the Mariana Islands weeks after Typhoon Mangkhut caused President Trump to issue a major disaster declaration for the of Rota, Saipan, and Tinian.

A cyclone becomes a super typhoon when its wind top 150 mph — making it the equivalent of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. Yutu is expected to easily maintain that status. The powerful storm is now heading west-northwest toward the Philippines and Taiwan, possibly arriving there by the middle of next week, according to Japan's NHK broadcasting organization.</s>Super Typhoon Yutu is currently tied for the strongest tropical cyclone anywhere in the world this year. Satellite images show the gigantic eye of the storm of the equivalent Category 5 hurricane. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published terrifying photos of the massive weather system on Twitter. The NOAA wrote: “Check out the eye of Super Typhoon #Yutu in the western Pacific, seen today from #Himawari-8.

“The ferocious Category 5 storm is packing 180 mph winds and quickly approaching the U.S. territories of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.” Weather Underground also commented on the massive storm: “One of the strongest storms ever recorded in the US and its territories is hitting the Northern Mariana Islands, including Saipan and Titian, as Category 5 Super Typhoon #Yutu rolls through with 180mph sustained winds.” And chief meteorologist for KATC Lafayette Rob Perillo described the centre of the storm as nearly “perfect.” He said: “Super Typhoon #Yutu slams N'rn Marianna Islands of Saipan & Tinian (north of Guam) as catastrophic storm w/180mph winds.

“Yutu went from 50mph tropical storm to 180mph winds w/gusts to 220mph in 48hrs. “Another huge rapid intensification cycle & nearly most perfect eye at landfall.” Packing maximum sustained winds of 180mph the residents of the Northern Mariana Islands called it “the worst storm they have ever experienced.” The typhoon slammed into the remote island communities of Saipan and Tinian, the largest of the Mariana Islands and home to about 55,000 people.

Mayor of Tinian and Aguigan, Joey Patrick San Nicolas posted a video to Facebook saying: "Tinian has been destroyed by Typhoon Yutu, but our spirits have not. “Many homes have been destroyed, our critical infrastructure has been compromised. We currently have no power and water at this time." US President Trump declared a disaster in the Marianas before the storm made landfall on Thursday. Mr Trump has sent more than 100 Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel to help with the aftermath of the storm.</s>Yutu is the strongest typhoon on record to pass over Saipan and Tinian.

Super Typhoon Yutu made a direct hit to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the South Pacific Ocean, on Wednesday, devastating the area and leaving thousands of residents without power and water, CNN reported.

Yutu is the strongest storm on record to hit the island communities of Tinian and Saipan, which are the largest of the Mariana Islands and home to about 55,000 people, and one of the strongest storms to ever hit a U.S. territory. It sustained winds of 174 mph as it strengthened to the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane before hitting the islands, making it one of the planet’s strongest tropical cyclones this year.

Residents of Saipan and Tinian were issued a weather warning by Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Island authorities late Wednesday night, cautioning that storm surges “pose life-threatening risk for those living along the coast.” CNN reported that surges of five to seven feet were recorded for the islands.

The eye of the storm passed directly over Tinian Island, the Weather Channel said, which is home to about 3,000 people.

“We had to hide inside the bathroom because the house felt like it was going to blow apart,” Juanita Mendiola, a Tinian resident, told the Associated Press.“It was literally shaking — a concrete house shaking.”

Saipan resident Lydia Barcinas told CNN her family had to hide out from the storm in their flooded pantry. She posted a video of the damage to her Facebook, showing that the roof of her home had been completely ripped off and trees and power lines had been knocked down.

“My family stayed because we thought it’ll be fine,” Barcinas told CNN. “Now [we are] just trying to find something to eat and drink” and “looking for medicine under the rubble.”

Officials confirmed the first death from the storm on Thursday, a 44-year-old woman found in the village of Chala Kanoa on Saipan Island. The Weather Channel reported she had been seeking shelter in an abandoned building that collapsed during the storm. At least 133 people in Saipan were hospitalized after the storm as well.

The commonwealth’s delegate to the U.S. Congress, Gregorio Kilili Comacho Sablan, said the islands “will need significant help to recover from the storm,” the Weather Channel reported.

According to Sablan, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) crews were on the way “with a full plane of food, water, cots and tarps” that would be able to land as soon as the runways at Saipan’s airport were cleared. He also said that President Donald Trump “issued an emergency declaration ahead of the storm’s arrival.”</s>
• Super Typhoon Yutu — the strongest storm of 2018 — lashed the Northern Mariana Islands as a Category 5 storm Thursday morning.
• Yutu is believed to be the strongest storm to ever hit the Northern Mariana Islands, which are a US commonwealth in the Pacific located near Guam.
• Satellite imagery from the NOAA shows the eye of the storm passed directly over Tinian, a small island with just over 3,000 residents.

Super Typhoon Yutu made a direct hit on the Northern Mariana Islands early Thursday morning, lashing the US commonwealth as a Category 5 storm with winds of up to 180 mph.

Yutu is the strongest storm to form this year, and is believed to be the strongest storm to ever hit the Marianas.

Satellite imagery from the NOAA shows that the storm passed directly over Tinian, a small island with a population of a little more than 3,000.

Tinian played an important role in World War II, as the launch site for the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to AtomicHeritage.org.

As Yutu crossed over the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the walls shook in Glen Hunter’s concrete home, a tin roof over the garage blew away and howling winds terrified his cats.

"At its peak, it felt like many trains running constant," Hunter, of Saipan, wrote in a Facebook message to The Associated Press. "As its peak, the wind was constant and the sound horrifying."

On Wednesday night, the weather service in Guam issued dire warnings of possible destruction of homes and others buildings. "Collapse of some residential structures will put lives at risk," the update said. "Airborne debris will cause extensive damage."

The update warned of falling glass from blown-out windows, electricity and water outages for days or weeks after the storm passes and fallen trees isolating residents.

"Gonna be quite a scene when the sun comes up," Hunter wrote to the AP early Thursday.

Hunter, 45, has lived on Saipan since childhood and is accustomed to strong storms. "We are in typhoon alley," he wrote, but added this is the worst he’s experienced.

Power went out the previous afternoon and Hunter was bracing for months without electricity or running water. All government offices and schools shut down two days ago. A few gas stations ran out of gas by Tuesday evening, he said.

"We knew it was going to be big," he said, "but wow."

Meteorologist Matthew Foster in Honolulu said Yutu is moving quickly enough that the main concern will be the strong winds, not huge amounts of rain that have been associated with other recent hurricanes.

"It’s a very powerful storm," Foster said. "It’s going to be more of a wind damage threat versus rain."

A super typhoon would be the equivalent of a category 4 or 5 hurricane.

The Northern Marianas are about 3,800 miles west of Hawaii, and have a population of about 55,000 people. Most of the population is concentrated on the island of Saipan.

Waves of 25 to 40 feet are expected around the eye of the storm and flooding is likely, forecasters said.

A typhoon warning was in effect for Saipan, Tinian and Rota and a tropical storm warning was in place for Guam and other southern islands.</s>A massive typhoon slammed into a U.S. territory in the west Pacific, lashing the Northern Mariana Islands with gusts of Category 5 intensity Wednesday night local time. Super Typhoon Yutu brought to bear maximum sustained winds of about 180 mph — much more powerful, in other words, than the historically powerful storm that hit Florida several weeks ago.

The islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota remain under typhoon warnings from the National Weather Service, while Guam and several smaller islands have been placed under a tropical storm warning. And the NWS expects typhoon conditions to continue through late Thursday morning local time.

"The strongest winds have already occurred and will continue to slowly

diminish through the day," the service said.

The tone of the latest update was significantly more subdued than the one sent as Yutu prepared to make landfall. "Catastrophic winds for Tinian and Saipan are imminent!" officials said. "Super Typhoon Yutu is a very dangerous Category 5 storm!"

Meteorologists described the storm as not only "Earth's strongest storm of 2018," but also "one of the most intense hurricane strikes on record for the United States and its territories." The more than 50,000 people that live in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands faced a storm surge of up to 20 feet and rainfall of up to 10 inches in certain areas.

And just listen to the unsettling wails of the wind recorded by a camera on Saipan. The island, together with Tinian, stood in the path of Yutu's eye.

The typhoon's intensity escalated at an "unbelievable" pace prior to hitting the islands, according to meteorologist Bob Henson, just two weeks after Hurricane Michael's intensification in the Gulf of Mexico stunned meteorologists, too.

"As the storm starts to rapidly intensify, it takes on this buzz-saw-like shape. It becomes very well-defined," Angela Fritz of The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang told NPR earlier this month, referring to Michael's surprising escalation. "You have this sinking feeling that things are about to get much worse than the forecast had suggested."

Michael caused catastrophic damage to communities in the Florida Panhandle, where the storm made landfall.

The extent of the damage in the Marianas remains unclear, but the NWS in Guam did not mince words upon its approach.

"Devastating damage is expected. Collapse of some residential structures will put lives at risk. Airborne debris will cause extensive damage," the service warned. "Persons ... pets ... and livestock struck by the wind blown debris will be injured or killed."

The storm is now moving away from the Mariana Islands — though that does not mean it is finished. Super Typhoon Yutu continues to beat a path northwest and has the potential to threaten the Philippines or Taiwan in the days to come.
Super Typhoon Yutu makes landfall on Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands as a category 5 storm. The typhoon becomes the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike any part of the United States since 1935.