Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 5
Super Typhoon Bavi Threatens Guam and Northern Marianas With 167 mph Winds
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 5

Super Typhoon Bavi Threatens Guam and Northern Marianas With 167 mph Winds

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 5

Summary

  • Bavi was bearing down on Tinian and Rota on Sunday and also threatening Guam, putting the US Commonwealth in the path of its second super typhoon of 2026.
  • 167 mph sustained winds made Bavi a Category 5 storm, and the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center said it could strengthen further in the next few hours before reaching the islands.
  • Guam and the Northern Marianas were already bracing for destructive conditions after earlier forecasts warned of catastrophic winds, flooding and coastal inundation, with Rota expected to be hit hard.
  • 43,000 residents in the Northern Mariana Islands are still recovering from April's Typhoon Sinlaku, raising the risk of renewed disruption if Bavi strikes at full strength.

Insights

Still rebuilding from a recent super typhoon, can the Mariana Islands' fragile infrastructure survive another direct Category 5 hit?
Could a second major typhoon in four months deliver the final blow to the Northern Mariana Islands' crippled tourism economy?
Fueled by El Niño, are back-to-back super typhoons the terrifying new reality for America's Pacific territories?