Typhoon Chaba forces
evacuations in Guam
HAGATNA, Guam - Residents of Saipan, Rota and Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands were told to head for higher ground as Typhoon Chaba neared Sunday.
The storm packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph with gusts to 150 mph was forecast to hit the islands with 110 mph winds and gusts to 140 mph during the night, the National Weather Service said.
Electrical power on Saipan was intermittent, but there were no initial reports of injuries, according to Rudy Pua, director of the U.S. commonwealth's Emergency Management Office.
The strongest part of the storm was approaching all three islands and was to keep typhoon force winds of at least 74 mph over them for several hours, forecasters said.
Flooding of low lying areas had started from rainfall that was expected to reach 15 inches, they said.
The coastal areas of the three islands were forecast to be inundated by a storm surge of 8 to 11 feet and waves reaching as high as 25 feet.
Chaba, located 50 miles south-southeast of Saipan and Tinian, was moving west at 14 mph on a track that would take it between Rota and Tinian, forecasters said.
The neighboring U.S. territory of Guam also remained under a typhoon warning. It was expected to get wind gusts of up to 90 mph, as well as 15 inches of rain, forecasters said.
On Guam, preparations for the storm's arrival included the closure of Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, according to Shawn Gumataotao, the lead public information officer for the government of Guam.
As many as 1,600 people went to eight emergency shelters as the winds began to pick up, Gumataotao said.
The island's electrical power remained on, but many areas were without water service, he said.
A count on the number of people in shelters in the Marianas wasn't immediately available, a spokesman for the civil defense coordinator said.
Some areas of Guam, located about 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii, are still recovering from Typhoon Tingting, which hit the island and Northern Marianas in June, Gumataotao said.
A typhoon is a hurricane located west of the international date line. A tropical storm gains typhoon status when its minimum sustained surface winds reach 74 mph.
