Super Typhoon Sinlaku Slams Northern Mariana Islands, Guam

Super Typhoon Sinlaku struck the American territories of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam yesterday, packing intense winds and serious storm surge.

Sinlaku began as a tropical depression on April 9, forming near Chuuk, a Micronesian state, before moving north. The storm briefly slowed down and was blown in different directions by colliding winds, but the warm water allowed it to begin strengthening during the process. Then, it accelerated northwest, strengthening further– by Monday, Sinlaku was already approaching the Northern Mariana Islands as a super typhoon with wind speeds of 180 mph.

Yesterday, the storm made landfall on the island of Saipan, one of the three most populous islands in the Northern Mariana archipelago. It had weakened slightly, but Sinlaku still brought devastating winds of over 145 mph. The nearby island of Tinian was also hard-hit– between the two islands, they have a combined population of over 50,000.

Most homes have tin roofs and general infrastructure across the islands is weak, making them more susceptible to the winds. Many homes had roofs torn off by the winds, and entire walls and balconies were even taken along with them. Power lines across the islands were quickly brought down, and trees were uprooted along streets and near homes. Cars were flipped over, and roads were completely inundated by the typhoon.

Similar impacts were seen on Guam, another American territory just 150 miles southwest of Saipan. The island was impacted less severely, but has a much larger population of over 170,000.

Many local residents across all three islands felt that Sinlaku was one of the strongest – if not the strongest – storm they have weathered throughout their lifetime. The islands typically see around six typhoons pass near or over the region each year, but super typhoons are more rare, with the last one taking place in 2018.

To this day, many residents were still recovering from that typhoon, Super Typhoon Yutu, because of the large amounts of time it takes to bring new supplies to the remote islands. Now, it may take years more to recover from Sinlaku, and these extreme weather events are only becoming more common as climate change ramps up.

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Image credit to the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies