Typhoon Mawar’s 225 km/h winds bear down on U.S. territory of Guam

Typhoon Mawar aimed its fury at the tiny U.S. territory of Guam on Wednesday as residents with nowhere to go hunkered down to face the devastating winds and torrential rains from what was expected to be the worst storm to hit the Pacific island in decades.

The U.S. military sent away ships, residents stockpiled supplies and anyone not living in a concrete house was urged to seek safety elsewhere ahead of the typhoon, which was forecast to arrive as a Category 4 storm with winds of 225 km/h but could possibly strengthen to a Category 5, the most powerful. The last time a Category 5 directly hit Guam was 1962.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Weather Service in Guam said they were seeing “almost whiteout conditions” at their office and hearing low rumblings and shaking shutters and doors as the storm intensified Wednesday afternoon local time.

“Stay inside. Trees are coming down, power lines are coming down,” said Brandon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the service. “Everything is changing — it is too dangerous to be outside.”

Lightning had become an increasing threat as conditions continued to deteriorate into the evening, the weather service reported. An extreme wind warning was in effect for northern Guam for extremely dangerous hurricane winds.

64 cm of rain possible

Many communities on the 549-square-kilometre island had lost power by the afternoon and some to the south had lost water service. A flash flood warning was issued for the entire island as forecasters predicted as much as 64 centimetres of rain in addition to a life-threatening storm surge of 1.2 to two metres, with dangerous surf of six to nine metres.

Ahead of the storm, Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero ordered residents of coastal, low-lying and flood-prone areas of the territory of over 150,000 people to evacuate to higher elevations. The highest point on the island is Mt. Lamlam in the southwest at 406 metres. But much of the beachfront tourist district of Tamuning, where many resort hotels are located, is close to sea level.

In low-lying Agat along the southern coast, resident Reuel Drilon began preparing Friday and spent the weekend tying down patio furniture and trash containers. Nearly every home in the village, he said, has a mango tree — which officials warned could be ripped from the ground and become roadblocks and deadly flying projectiles.

“A lot of folks are keeping their eyes on trees,” he told The Associated Press before the storm hit. “Down south, we have a lot of coconut trees and mango trees.”

Guam is a crucial hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific, and its Department of Defence controls about a third of the island. Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, Joint Region Marianas commander, authorized the evacuation of defence personnel, dependents and employees in areas expected to be affected.

The military said it moved its ships out to sea as a standard precaution. It sent its aircraft off the island or placed them in protective hangars. Any personnel remaining on the island were sheltering in place. About 6,800 U.S. service members are assigned to Guam, according to the Pentagon.

Residents transported to shelters

Rain from the storm fell over the island, and as of Wednesday evening the typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 225 km/h, according to the National Weather Service, and wind gusts earlier were peaking at 274 km/h. Its centre was about 24 kilometres north-northeast of the island.

If Guam doesn’t take a direct hit, it will be very close, said Patrick Doll, the lead weather service meteorologist in Guam. Mawar is a Malaysian word that means “rose,” he noted.

School buses picked up residents at island community centres and transported them to 11 elementary schools outfitted as shelters. Civic workers in various villages warned residents to secure loose objects in their yards and seek shelter immediately. Some spread the word by megaphone, while others turned to social media. Power flickered off and on as the rain and wind intensified, and officials said nearly 900 people were in shelters.

Leon Guerrero urged residents in a YouTube message to remain calm and ordered the National Guard to help those in low-lying areas flee, saying, “We are at the crosshairs of Typhoon Mawar. Take action now.”

Guerrero said an emergency declaration approved by President Joe Biden will support the mobilization of resources into Guam, which is “especially crucial given our distance from the continental U.S.”

Joshua Paulino, a client manager at Xerox Guam, was sheltering at home in the central village of Chalan Pago with his wife, two sons and mother after the family closed the shutters and secured outdoor objects. He worried that the storm could dump rain on the island for a long time, since it was forecast to pass by gradually.

“This storm is moving very slowly so that is making me really uneasy,” Paulino said by text message.