According to storm forecasters, from the morning of July 6, Super Typhoon Ba Vi will move through Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands with sustained winds of about 260 km/h, equivalent to a Category 5 super typhoon according to the Atlantic hurricane classification scale, accompanied by gusts up to 315 km/h.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) described Ba Vi as a very dangerous storm, and warned that Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands would begin to be affected by strong winds from the afternoon or evening of July 5. Areas near the storm center could suffer catastrophic levels of devastation.
Torrential rain can cause serious flooding, while sea level rise due to storms will affect coastal areas. Offshore waves are forecast to reach 10.7m high, making developments at sea extremely dangerous.
The North Mariana Islands in the western Pacific have about 40,000 people while Guam has about 170,000 people. In mid-April, Super Typhoon Sinlaku devastated this area. The cargo ship MV Mariana broke down its engine and capsized during the storm.
According to forecasts on the morning of July 5, the center of Typhoon Ba Vi will get closest to Rota Island, a small island located between Guam and Saipan Island - the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands with about 1,500 residents.
Teams from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have arrived in Guam. The FEMA's logistics center reserves about 1.1 million liters of drinking water, 1.2 million meals, 6,700 folding beds and 90 generators to be ready for response.
Guam has opened 5 evacuation centers located in schools with a capacity of about 1,900 people, mainly for residents living in houses vulnerable to storms.
Copernicus Marine Surveillance of the European Union (EU), the oceans around the world have just experienced a record hot June and sea temperatures may continue to set new records in the coming months.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on July 3 warned that El Nino is forming in the tropical Pacific region and is likely to develop with strong intensity. El Nino causes sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific regions to rise, leading to changes in wind, atmospheric pressure and rainfall globally.
