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The Northern Mariana Islands have been left in disarray after a super typhoon swept through, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Cars were flipped, utility poles were toppled, and tin roofs were torn away by the powerful forces of nature. Remarkably, there have been no reported fatalities.
Local authorities have now embarked on the daunting task of evaluating the full extent of the devastation inflicted by Super Typhoon Sinlaku. The storm initially made its presence known on Tuesday night, progressing into Wednesday with a relentless assault of intense winds and unyielding rain.
In Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands and a U.S. territory home to approximately 43,000 residents, widespread power outages have been reported and many roads are now impassable, according to local officials.
Guam, another U.S. territory with several American military bases, also experienced the typhoon’s wrath as it endured tropical force winds.
Designated as the most formidable tropical cyclone to occur globally this year, the typhoon boasted sustained winds reaching up to 150 mph (240 kph) as it struck the islands, as reported by the National Weather Service.
The monster storm still had winds of 125 mph (200 kph) late Wednesday night as it pulled away to the north from the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota, the weather service said. Sinlaku is expected start curving toward sparsely populated volcanic islands in the far northern Marianas.
It was still very windy and rainy roughly 24 hours after the typhoon rattled the islands, but much better than the previous night, said Jaden Sanchez, spokesperson for the Saipan mayor’s office.
Preliminary reports include a lot of flooding, uprooted trees and downed power lines, but no deaths, he said.
Images from Saipan showed residential lots littered with debris and mangled trees. Winds crumbled metal bleachers at a sports field.
Resident Dong Min Lee shot video of a car sitting on top of two others in his apartment building’s parking lot. The winds tore off part of his balcony railing.
The American Red Cross and its partners were sheltering more than 1,000 residents across Guam and the Northern Marianas, agency spokesperson Stephanie Fox said.
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