Super typhoon Mawar is more dangerous because of climate change
How fast does a hurricane move? Hurricanes and cyclones with strong winds, as much as typhoons, in Guam and the Mariana Islands
The United States territory of Guam is in the path of Super typhoon Mawar. It is pushing a wall of water in front of it and it has winds so powerful it can snap power poles.
Mawar intensified and moved over warm water in the Pacific. Oceans around the world are experiencing record-breaking temperatures this year.
As it moves toward land, Mawar has gained strength. In one day it went from a Category 1 storm with winds that might remove a few shingles to a Category 4 storm with winds powerful enough to tear away roofs entirely.
Such rapid intensification is increasingly common. Storms that gain strength quickly are dangerous because there isn’t time to warn people. Hurricane Ian made a powerful storm just before hitting Florida last year. In 2021, Hurricane Ida gained strength right before making landfall in Louisiana.
Hurricanes andcyclones are the same as typhoons. Different regions of the world use different words for the spinning storms. Major Hurricane is a term similar to the term Super Typhoon. Storms with strong winds are what it refers to.
Warm water at the ocean’s surface is a fuel for hurricanes because of the heat it creates. But wind conditions also affect how quickly a storm grows in strength, which makes it more difficult for scientists to pinpoint the effects of climate change on the formation of any one storm, and to predict long-term trends.
Climate change makes both storm surge and inland flooding more severe. Storm surge is more dangerous because of sea level rise. The water along the coast is higher than it was in the past, which exacerbates the damage from storm surge. Guam and the Mariana Islands are especially vulnerable to rising seas because they are low-lying island territories.
The process probably won’t start until after the sun rises. Forecasters tell the AP and the New York Times that storm conditions are expected to linger in Guam until Thursday morning local time.
Guam’s tropical cyclone-mawar-damage-fema-relief: What does it take to put a stop to it?
She claims that we get more support quickly because we don’t have the help of other states.
She said she was grateful for the help Biden and FEMA gave her, but that Guam’s status doesn’t affect relief. She says the agency’s response is comparable to that for other weather emergencies, like hurricanes, in the continental U.S.
That is the reason we have a distribution center there. And that’s why a regional administrator meets with … island leadership every year to make sure that … efforts made to prepare for disasters and be resilient against them are shared,” she explains. “In fact, Guam has mostly concrete infrastructure, including concrete power poles, and that can go a long way in the face of a storm of this magnitude.”
The NWS said that the storm moved away from the island as of Wednesday evening. Its maximum sustained winds remain at 140 mph and are expected to grow as it slowly makes its way northwest.
Forecasters had warned of a “triple threat” with powerful winds, torrential rain and “life-threatening storm surge,” and said it could be the strongest storm to hit the island in 60 years.
In 1962, the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit Guam was called Karen and it had winds up to 175 miles per hour.
Guerrero said she will have her first damage assessment as soon as the winds start tapering down, but already knows of damage to houses and at least one rescue mission in which eight people were taken to a shelter.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847305/guam-typhoon-mawar-damage-fema-relief
Guam is dark, what’s the power system? — an update from the U.S. Department of Public Works and Emergency Management
Most of the island is dark, what’s clear is that. In an update at 3 pm, Guam Power Authority reported that almost all of its circuits were without power, and the island-wide power system was only able to serve a small number of customers.
Williams told Morning Edition on Wednesday that the island, which is covered by an area of some 218 square miles, was seeing heavy rain, coastal flooding, high seas and downed trees.
She explained that this doesn’t compare to Florida or Georgia, where you can drive inland for up to 10 miles. “I mean, the flights shut down yesterday. We’re here and … Staying in our homes and going to places with shelter and getting away from the water is what we have to do. So most people do that.”
The US military sent ships out of Guam as a precautionary measure, and the president gave the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the authority to respond to the disaster.
FEMA Associate Administrator Anne Bink told NPR’s All Things Considered on Tuesday that the agency had already pre-staged over 100 staff members — including medical professionals and power restoration experts — as well as relief supplies, with more than a million liters of water and 700,000 meals ready at a distribution center in Guam.
