Deadly super typhoon charges toward US territory in just hours with 173mph winds and blackout threat

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Deadly super typhoon charges toward US territory in just hours with 173mph winds and blackout threat

Daily Mail
By CHRIS MELORE
14 April 2026

A massive typhoon is barreling toward US territory and could cause lasting damage for both residents and American tourists in the Pacific Ocean.

With sustained winds up to 173mph, the Category 5 cyclone became the strongest of the Pacific's tropical storm season on Monday.

Known as Super Typhoon Sinlaku, it is now moving straight toward the Northern Mariana Islands, including Saipan, Tinian and Rota, and the island of Guam.

Nearly 2,000 tourists across the US territories have already been stranded by the storm, which is expected to hit the islands Tuesday night, potentially causing blackouts, flooding and widespread wind damage.

A typhoon is a large, spinning storm that forms over warm tropical ocean water. It is the same type of storm as a hurricane or a cyclone - the only difference is where they form.

Hurricanes begin in the tropical Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Typhoons like Sinlaku form in the West Pacific Ocean, while cyclones start south of the equator, off the coast of places such as Australia and Madagascar.

A Category 5 storm is the strongest tropical cyclone measured by meteorologists, meaning it has destructive winds exceeding 157 mph.

The last same-rated typhoon to threaten US territory was Typhoon Yutu, which battered the Northern Mariana Islands in 2018, impacting the local economy and causing damage that took years to recover from.

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15732437/super-typhoon-sinlaku-northern-mariana-guam.html