Super Typhoon Bavi Hits US Pacific Islands, Brings Strong Winds and Heavy Rain

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1126 EAT on Monday 6 July 2026

A “super typhoon” has made landfall on United States territorial islands in the western Pacific near Guam, with authorities reporting significant damage as powerful winds and torrential rain battered the Northern Mariana Islands.

The eye of Super Typhoon Bavi passed over the island of Rota on Monday morning local time, bringing sustained winds of more than 150mph (241km/h), equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS).

The storm was moving west towards the Philippines at about 9mph (14km/h), the NWS said.

As it made landfall, the NWS urged residents of Rota to “treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to an interior room or shelter NOW”.

The system also affected other parts of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, both United States territories. The region is still recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which struck in mid-April.

The Northern Marianas and Guam are collectively home to about 210,000 people.

Local authorities on Rota, the southernmost island in the Northern Marianas and located less than 80km (50 miles) north of Guam, said they had received reports of “major damage”, though the full extent remained unclear due to disrupted communications.

In addition to Rota, typhoon and flash flood warnings were in effect for Guam, Tinian and Saipan, while tropical storm warnings and watches covered other nearby islands.

The weather service warned the storm could bring at least 20 inches (51cm) of rainfall to the region.

While Bavi passed through the region at a faster pace than Sinlaku, the islands could still experience tropical storm conditions until at least Monday night, the NWS said.

In a video posted on social media on Sunday, Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero urged residents to remain indoors or seek shelter, warning that conditions remained dangerous despite the storm’s passage.

-Aljazeera

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