Super Typhoon Bavi was forecast to roar westwards over the area with winds of 260 kilometres per hour – equivalent to a category 5 hurricane – and gusts of up to 315 kph.
The National Weather Service (NWS) called the typhoon “very dangerous”, warning of “tropical storm force” winds from Sunday afternoon or evening and “catastrophic” damage near the system’s centre later.
“Significant flooding from torrential rains, and coastal inundation are expected,” the NWS said, with projected waves of up to 10.7 metres – the height of a 10-storey building – creating “extremely dangerous” conditions at sea.
There were few cars on the roads in Guam on Sunday as heavy rain and strong winds lashed the island.
Pinky Cubacub, 55, said as she boarded up the windows of her eatery that she had lined up early on Saturday to buy US$500 worth of plywood at a lumber store.
“I cannot afford to lose so many days. It hurts,” she said. “Because I just started, whatever we’re making right now is just for rent, utilities, and my people, and supplies. I don’t even pay myself yet.”
Call centre employee Arabella Paulino, 48, said: “My girls were saying to me it’s scary. But it will be okay.”
“My house is concrete, so the worst that can happen is a window could blow in,” she said.
Japanese tourist Miku Sakurai, 25, was supposed to fly back to Tokyo with her friends on Sunday but their flight was cancelled because of the weather.
“We will stay in the hotel when the storm comes. I am scared,” the office worker said.
Around a dozen surfers, however, were making the most of the windy conditions at one beach in Guam’s Talofofo Bay.
“There’s quite a lot of debris in the water but it’s a lot of fun,” said one of them.
The world’s oceans experienced their hottest June on record and could set fresh highs in the months ahead, the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said on Wednesday.
Warmer oceans help tropical storms to intensify and add more moisture, which can fall as heavy rain. (AFP)
