Super Typhoon Bavi slams Rota and Guam with catastrophic winds

Super Typhoon Bavi drove its eye over Rota on Monday morning local time, hammering one of America’s most remote Pacific communities with catastrophic Category 5 winds. The National Weather Service issued an extreme wind warning for Rota as widespread destructive winds above 150 mph were occurring across the Marianas, a chain that includes Guam, Tinian and Saipan.

The National Weather Service put Bavi’s maximum sustained winds at 180 mph and warned of at least 20 inches of rain across the region, raising the threat of flash flooding on top of roof-ripping wind damage. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center earlier measured the storm at 259 km/h, or 161 mph, with gusts up to 314 km/h, or 195 mph, as it approached the islands on July 3.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero moved the island into heightened emergency readiness on Sunday and urged residents to stay in their homes, avoid roads and keep away from water. The Northern Mariana Islands and Guam both opened shelters, and those shelters were nearing capacity as people from low-lying areas and wood-and-tin homes sought refuge. The American Red Cross deployed disaster teams and relief supplies ahead of the storm.

Landon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told NPR the situation looked “grim” and said the storm could be “near catastrophic” for Rota. Local authorities on the island later reported major damages, though the full extent was still unclear as emergency crews began assessing the aftermath.

Rota sits about 40 miles northeast of Guam and has a population of roughly 1,500. The Northern Mariana Islands have about 40,000 residents, while Guam has around 170,000. The islands were still recovering from Typhoon Sinlaku in April 2026, which knocked out power, uprooted trees, overturned cars and tore roofs from buildings; some residents were still in temporary shelters or living under makeshift roofs when Bavi arrived.

Bavi was the second super typhoon to threaten or hit U.S. Pacific territories since April. It was the third Category 5 storm of 2026.