Category 5 super typhoon Bavi bears down on Guam and the Marianas
Super Typhoon Bavi strengthened into a Category 5 storm over the western North Pacific on July 4, putting the US territory of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands on course for potentially catastrophic winds. Forecasters expect destructive typhoon-force winds over Guam from early Monday, July 6.
Guam declared a state of emergency and opened five school-based evacuation centers with capacity for about 1,900 people, prioritizing residents in vulnerable housing; shelters on Saipan and Tinian opened early to give families more time to move. The US Naval Hospital in Guam cancelled outpatient services for Monday and Tuesday, and the Coast Guard repositioned vessels to ride out the storm.
Trump signed a federal emergency declaration allowing resources to be staged before landfall. FEMA reported teams on the ground and a distribution center stocked with 1.1 million liters of water, 1.2 million meals, 6,700 cots and 90 generators — a pre-positioning effort that reflects how much the response depends on supplies already being in place before the island is cut off.