Overview
- Forecasters upgraded Bavi to a Category 5 super typhoon after rapid strengthening, and official guidance projects the storm to pass closest to Rota before moving between Guam and Saipan within the next 48 hours.
- Authorities issued typhoon warnings for Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan, opened evacuation shelters, declared states of emergency and set Guam at Condition of Readiness 2 as people secure homes and stock supplies.
- Federal and military agencies have pre‑positioned aid and taken protective actions, with FEMA staging water, meals, cots and generators and the U.S. Coast Guard closing ports and securing vessels.
- Forecasters warn of catastrophic sustained winds (roughly 257–278 km/h with gusts above 300 km/h), very large waves up to about 8–11 meters and multi‑meter coastal inundation that could drive life‑threatening flooding and mudslides.
- Forecast confidence for the short‑term track is high but intensity and the storm’s wind‑field remain uncertain because an eyewall replacement cycle could briefly weaken Bavi or cause it to expand and re‑intensify, changing which islands get the worst impacts; the Marianas are especially vulnerable as they continue recovery from April’s Super Typhoon Sinlaku.