Tens of thousands of people were without power Tuesday on Guam and the Northern Marianas after a super typhoon tore through the US Pacific territories, with no deaths reported.
The small island of Rota was the worst affected after a direct hit from Super Typhoon Bavi with winds up to 180 miles (290 kilometers) per hour on Monday, bringing down trees and power lines and knocking out water supplies.
Rota’s Mayor Aubry Hocog said she had been told that two people sustained non-fatal injuries but that “there were no deaths confirmed.”
Hocog said that over “50 percent of our island has undergone damages, and it could be more,” adding that it could take “two to three months” to fully restore power supply.
“There is still a very long line of our people lining up to get water. (Utilities company) CUC is rationing the water up to 25 gallons (95 litres) per household just so we can be sure to have enough for everybody,” she added.
Rota resident Masum Dhali, 24, said that “many homes have suffered severe damage, with countless roofs completely torn off.”
“Across the island, there is no electricity, no running water, and no mobile network service,” Dhali told AFP via Facebook, adding that “numerous water pipelines have been broken, and many power poles have fallen, leaving the entire island without essential services.”
Local media showed a long line of cars on Rota — home to some 1,500 people — queueing to get drinking water as temperatures hit a hot and humid 85F (29C).
Saipan and Tinian, the two main islands of the Northern Marianas home to around 40,000 people, also lost power as did parts of nearby Guam, a separate US territory home to major military bases.
On Guam, less than 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Rota, fallen trees, bits of streetlamps and rocks were strewn over the roads late Monday and AFP saw at least one car flipped on its side.
With the exception of Rota, the damage in the region of around 210,000 people was less severe than after Sinkalu, a super typhoon that hit in April.
‘Nowhere else to go’
Guam resident Marie and her partner, who were clearing up the debris with an excavator, had to move out of their house after Sinlaku and were living in a van when Bavi struck.
“All of our stuff (in the van) got wet from this typhoon now, so we ended up coming here to our car because we have nowhere else to go,” 37-year-old Marie told AFP.
Handyman Bob Benavente said at a seaside park where rocks had been washed ashore by the storm surge that some rainwater leaked into his house but that he and his neighbors had not suffered major damage.
“Everybody goes out and gets gas, water, all the supplies (before storms arrive)… Everyone’s used to it here. It’s part of the island lifestyle,” the 61-year-old told AFP.
Oceans experienced their hottest June on record and could set fresh highs in the months ahead, the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said last week.
Warmer oceans help tropical storms to intensify and add more moisture, which can fall as heavy rain.
Adding to the mix is the return this year of El Nino, a natural climate phenomenon that warms Pacific surface temperatures and typically occurs every two to seven years.
Its effects can include drought across parts of the Amazon, Indonesia and Australia, disrupted monsoons in India, and more tropical storms and typhoons in the Pacific.
Charles “Chip” Guard, 80, a meteorologist who for years worked for the National Weather Service in Guam, remembers 11 super typhoons in the Pacific in 1997.
“That was very strong El Nino year. This is a strong El Nino year, but you know the season’s only just started and we already had a couple,” Guard told AFP.
