Overview
- The eye crossed Tinian and Saipan Tuesday night local time with sustained winds near 150 mph, and the storm stalled for hours in what forecasters warned would be a long, dangerous night.
- By late Wednesday, the system had shifted north and weakened over open water, leaving Saipan with impassable roads, widespread power outages, and water service disruptions reported by FEMA.
- Guam avoided a direct hit but saw tropical-storm-force gusts, flash flooding, canceled flights and classes, and hazardous surf that authorities said would linger.
- Federal help is scaling up after the president’s emergency declarations, with FEMA sending more staff and the American Red Cross sheltering more than 1,000 people across the Marianas and Guam.
- Sinlaku peaked over open ocean near 180 mph in an unusually early super typhoon, and its slow crawl over the islands prolonged wind and rain in a region often hit by powerful storms.