Food, water, cots, generators, and other federal emergency supplies were being rushed Tuesday from Hawaii and Guam to help Saipan after the Earth's most powerful storm of 2015 — Super Typhoon Soudelor — blasted through the tiny U.S. island in the Western Pacific.
The storm continued its violent march through the Pacific Ocean with sustained winds of more than 160 mph and gusts approaching 200 mph — the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said Tuesday. The typhoon was taking aim at Taiwan and China, though it is expected to weaken to a Category 3 or 4 storm by then, the center said.
"There is growing concern that Taiwan and the southern Ryukyu Islands will have to contend with Soudelor as early as Thursday night or Friday with impacts lasting into early next week across eastern China," said AccuWeather meteorologist Eric Leister.
The storm slammed into Saipan, one of the Northern Mariana Islands, a 48,000-population U.S. commonwealth, Sunday and Monday. It flooded the island’s power plant, ripped off roofs and toppled power poles, the Pacific Daily News in Guam reported. Hundreds of Saipan residents are in shelters. Some roads remain impassable, and power and water service are out.
Credi to USA Today
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