By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER (Associated Press)
HONOLULU (AP) — Authorities in Guam warned anybody not residing in a totally concrete home to move to security elsewhere, and emergency shelters started to fill as residents braced for Typhoon Mawar, a strong storm that would ship the largest hit in 20 years to the U.S. territory within the Pacific.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero urged residents in a YouTube message to stay calm and put together for Mawar, which the National Weather Service mentioned may hit southern Guam round noon Wednesday. She ordered the National Guard to assist these in low-lying areas evacuate forward of the storm as residents stocked up on jugs of water and mills.
“Current forecasts are not favorable to our island,” she mentioned. “We are at the crosshairs of Typhoon Mawar. Take action now, stay calm, stay informed and stay safe.”
If Guam doesn’t take a direct hit, will probably be very shut, mentioned Patrick Doll, the lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tiyan, Guam.
The storm was intensifying because it approached Guam, and the climate service warned of a “triple threat” of winds, torrential rains and life-threatening storm surge. The middle of the Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 130 mph (209 kph), was about 190 miles (300 kilometers) southeast of Guam on Tuesday and was “wobbling” to the north-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph), in accordance with the climate service.
Winds may attain as excessive as 150 mph (240 kph), Guerrero mentioned in her video message. And Doll mentioned the storm may trigger “extensive damage.”
The governor mentioned that she would place Guam basically in a lockdown efficient 1 p.m. Tuesday and that these in low-lying areas wanted to depart by 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Rain from the storm’s outer bands was falling Tuesday.
A storm surge of 6 to 10 toes (2 to three meters) above the traditional excessive tide was anticipated and will attain as excessive as 15 toes (4 1/2 meters). Surf was anticipated to construct sharply within the subsequent day or two alongside south- and east-facing reefs, with harmful surf of 20 to 25 toes (6 to 7 1/2 meters) Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday, the climate service mentioned.
At the island’s grocery and {hardware} shops Monday, folks left with buying carts stuffed with canned items, circumstances of water and mills, the Pacific Daily News reported.
The Rev. Francis X. Hezel, a Jesuit priest and assistant pastor at Santa Barbara Church in Dededo, was attempting to go to folks on the hospital earlier than it closed to guests Tuesday.
Before hitting the highway, he mentioned, he had hassle discovering somebody to assist him put air in his tires as a result of everybody was busy readying their houses to face up to the storm.
“I live in a rectory,” he mentioned. “I’m just closing the windows hoping that the gusts don’t bash them in. Praying for the best, I guess.”
Officials warned residents who aren’t in totally concrete constructions to think about shifting for security. Many houses are manufactured from wooden and tin.
“The triple threat of cat 4 typhoon force winds, torrential rains and life-threatening storm surge are all expected for Guam and Rota,” the climate service mentioned in a Tuesday morning replace.
Rota, an island within the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, was additionally below a storm warning, Doll mentioned. Tinian and Saipan, within the Northern Marianas, had been below tropical storm warnings.
Some folks in these areas are nonetheless in short-term shelters or tents after Category 5 Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018, Doll famous.
“Guam takes a Category 4 or 5 hit every five to seven years. Mother Nature has spared us as of late,” Doll mentioned, including that the final direct hit was in 2002. “So we are way overdue.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”