Possible ‘Direct Hit’ From Typhoon Mawar to Guam

The governor of Guam, Lou Leon Guerrero, has urged residents to stay at home, citing the likelihood of a direct impact from Typhoon Mawar, a natural phenomenon currently intensifying as it progresses towards the Pacific territory.

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On Tuesday, Guerrero urged the nearly 171,000 residents of Guam, a U.S. territory, to remain calm and make the necessary arrangements in anticipation of the cyclonic event.

“Mawar is a real threat and a possible direct hit to our island,” the governor said in a YouTube video on Tuesday.

According to the National Weather Service in Guam, on Wednesday, at about midday local time (02:00 GMT), the southern part of Guam could be hit by Mawar.

“If we don’t take a direct hit, it’s going to be very close,” said Patrick Doll, lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Guam, adding that the typhoon could cause “extensive damage.”

According to meteorological authorities, the storme is projected to manifest as a Category 4 typhoon with winds travelling at a velocity of 225-kilometres-per-hour (140-mile-per-hour).

Moreover, according to authorities, it is also anticipated to potentially inflict the most significant impact upon the island in the preceding two decades.

Officials warned residents not living in fully concrete structures to consider moving for their own safety.

“The triple threat of cat 4 typhoon force winds, torrential rains and life-threatening storm surge are all expected for Guam and Rota,” the weather service said in a Tuesday morning update.

According to Doll's report, Rota, an island situated in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, was also placed under a typhoon warning as well as tropical storms warnings were issued for Tinian and Saipan, in the northern Marianas.

According to Doll, some residents of the aforementioned regions continue to reside in provisional accommodations, including tents and temporary shelters, after the Category 5 Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018.

“Guam takes a Category 4 or 5 hit every five to seven years. Mother Nature has spared us as of late,” Doll said, adding that the last direct hit was in 2002. “So we are way overdue.”