Typhoon Sinlaku turned to super typhoon category 5 as huge waves were seen slamming Mariana Islands near Saipan on Tuesday, April 14. The strongest storm of the year so far has brought strong winds and heavy rainfall to US territory and commonwealth of Guam.
A resident of Saipan has recorded waves on her camera. Lauren Cabrera, a veterinary student with over 15,000 followers on Instagram, shared the video which shows huge waves hitting island. She wrote, "Typhoon Sinlaku is just getting started." She reported that the typhoon Sinlaku is getting closer to Saipan.
“There are people I know and love who are not yet in a safe shelter. To anybody who is not in a concrete structure- PLEASE for the love of God, get to a shelter ASAP. Like, now. Because it’s only going to get worse.”
Typhoon Sinlaku has travelled 126 km southeast of Saipan and has tracked northwestward at 15 km per hour over the pas 6 hours. "Maximum significant wave height is 12.8 meters (42 feet)," as per the forecast by Zoom Earth.
“Sinlaku is forecast to continue on a north-northwestward trajectory under the steering influence of the near-equatorial ridge to the southeast, with a closest point of approach to Saipan and Tinian around 14/12:00 UTC,” according to Zoom Earth.
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Flooding due to heavy rainfall was seen in Guam. Winds reaching at a speed of 173 mph at the same a Category 5 hurricane.
Sinlaku formed on April 9 has become strongest storm influencing strong winds. The cyclonic storm was about 68 nautical miles (126km) southeast of the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands at about midday on Tuesday local time (02:00 GMT), and is moving at a slow pace of about 14 km/hour (9 mph), according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning System.