Typhoon Mawar path: Eye narrowly passes Guam before moving towards the Philippines

The eye of Super Typhoon Mawar narrowly passed by Guam but the storm left behind damage and power outages

The storm is one of the most powerful to hit the US Pacific in two decades. President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration and residents who aren’t in fully concrete structures — many homes on the far-flung island are made of wood and tin — have been urged to seek safety elsewhere.

The National Weather Service upgraded the storm to a “super typhoon” on Wednesday night, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, and warned of a “triple threat” of winds, torrential rains and a life-threatening storm surge on Guam, which is a day ahead of the US mainland.

The eyewall of the typhoon passed by north of Guam on Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. But even without a direct hit, the island the size of Chicago still suffered damages.

Here’s Typhoon Mawar’s path so far:

The storm hit Guam on Wednesday night equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane, causing power and water outages islandwide.

Super Typhoon Mawar is the ninth storm in its category or stronger to hit the United States or its territories since 2017, according to Yale Climate Connections meteorologist Jeff Masters.

The eye of the storm passed slightly north of Guam with sustained winds of 142 miles per hour.Residents of Guam experienced strong winds, lightning and heavy rainfall as Mawar moved about eight miles per hour on Wednesday night.

One meteorologist with the National Weather Service described the night as “long” and “scary” during a news briefing in Guam saying some of the island did not have electricity.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for Dededo, Yigo and Tamuning and advised residents to move to higher ground and to avoid driving or walking through flood waters.

Only one plant on the island is functioning and serving specifically Andersen Air Force Base (AAFB), Camp Blaz Marine Base and a small portion of Dededo village, the Guam Power Authority said in a statement. Restoration will begin once the weather conditions are improved.

Here is Typhoon Mawar’s expected path:

After parts of the typhoon passed over Guam, the storm headed west toward the Philippines and Taiwain, intensifying to the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.

Around 8pm local time on Thursday, the centre of the storm was approximately 195 miles northwest of Guam, according to The New York Times.

The storm is expected to move toward Taiwan and the northern part of Luzon, Philippines.

One meteorologist said it is possible that parts of the typhoon make landfall in China.