2023’s most powerful storm heads towards Philippines

After rapid intensification, Typhoon Mawar has become the most intense storm of 2023, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC).

Mawar’s peak winds have surged to 175 mph, accompanied by gusts nearing 210 mph, JWTC said.

The typhoon has also surpassed the strength of any storm recorded in 2022 and now stands equivalent to a category 5 super typhoon.

These unprecedented wind speeds have brought the typhoon into the ranks of the five most powerful typhoons ever documented in the month of May.

No deaths or significant injuries were reported in Guam after super Typhoon Mawar hit the island on Wednesday and Thursday, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero told CNN.

Though the typhoon did leave much of the island damaged with many residents without power or clean water.

As the storm hit Guam, its strength was equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour and gusts of up to 165 miles per hour.

Typhoon Mawar has made landing on the US territory of Guam, leaving extreme damage and power outages behind.

Andrea Blanco and Ariana Baio report:

Parts of Guam are without clean water as of Thursday after Typhoon Mawar damaged water wells, pump stations and water treatment plants on parts of the island, according to reports.

The Guam Waterworks Authority asked residents to boil water due to possible bacterial contamination in the water until further notice.

Islandwide, resident are reporting water outages according to a report from the Guam Pacific Daily News. Specifically affected areas include Tamuning, Nimitz Hill, Agat, Santa Rita, Yona, Talofofo, Cross Island Road, Talofofo and Inarajan.

Guam Waterworks Authority General Manager, Miguel Bordallo, said there is no estimate for when service will be restored

“Reduced production capacity is unable to keep up with the demand, and therefore cannot rebuild reservoir levels,” Mr Bordallo told Guam Pacific Daily News.

Guam successfully weathered the strongest storm in years as Typhoon Mawar swept across the Western Pacific Island last night.

Mawar made landfall at local time 9pm but the island was battered by heavy rains and powerful winds of up to 240 kph for hours yesterday, that uprooted trees, blew away roofs, and brought the US territory to a standstill.

According to the Guam Power Authority, nearly all of the island’s 52,000 homes and businesses experienced power outages, with only 1,000 retaining electricity.

Despite the intense conditions, the island managed to avoid significant damage.

There are no reports of unusual incidents in hospital emergency rooms, and the overall impact included moderate damages such as localised flooding, fallen debris, and downed power lines.

As typhoon Mawar aimed its fury at Guam, residents facing terrifying winds and crashing waves from the strongest storm to hit the US Pacific territory in decades had identical twin meteorologists to keep them informed — and to provide the outside world with a glimpse of the chaos unfolding on the remote island.

Typhoons and hurricanes are from the same weather phenomenon known as a tropical cyclone, but the difference in names can sometimes confuse people.

If the storm is in the North Atlantic, central North Pacific or eastern North Pacific, it is called a hurricane.

If the storm occurs in the Northwest Pacific it is called a typhoon.

But in the South Pacific or Indian Ocean, generally, it is called a tropical cyclone.

Authorities in Guam warned anyone not living in a fully concrete house to head to safety elsewhere, and emergency shelters began to fill as residents braced for Super Typhoon Mawar, a powerful storm that delivered the biggest hit in two decades to the US territory in the Pacific.

As the global average temperature increases and sea levels rise, tropical cyclones – the catch-all term for hurricanes and typhoons – are expected to become stronger and the damage more catastrophic, scientists say. (In the Atlantic Ocean, hurricane season starts on 1 June.)

Louise Boyle and Ethan Freedman report:

The American Red Cross said it was helping those affected by the Super Typhoon in Guam in a press release posted on Wednesday.

“The Red Cross has relief items on the island and staged in strategic locations in preparation for the storm, including water, shelf-stable meals, clean-up kits, tarps and hygiene supplies,” the Red Cross said.

“Nationally, a disaster leadership team is on Guam and as many as 200 trained disaster workers and more emergency supplies will be deployed to the island as soon as travel is possible.

The Red Cross will work with officials to coordinate the relief response, supporting sheltering and feeding operations, damage assessment and distribution of relief supplies.”