Super Typhoon Bavi strikes US Pacific islands with pummeling winds

Bavi comes after Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands were hit . Bavi brought wind speeds of 290km/h (180mph) as it moved over the island of Rota, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS). The NWS warned the "very dangerous" storm could cause "catastrophic" damage, with waves potentially nearly 11m (35ft) high. An official told AFP they had received reports of "major damages" on the Northern Mariana Islands. Bavi headed west over the Philippine Sea in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and Guam officials announced they would conduct initial damage assessments at first light. Rain falls in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, ahead of super typhoon Bavi's arrival Even as it headed into open water, Guam's Joint Information Center warned that Bavi could maintain wind speeds of up to 165 mph and cause tropical-storm force winds to extend outwards as far as 320 miles from its centre. The islands of Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan remain under coastal flood and high surf alerts, as the NWS warned of "dangerously large breaking waves" up to 25ft (7.6m) high. The Guam Waterworks Authority (GWA) reported 28 of the island's 99 water wells remained offline after the storm. Beginning at local time on Tuesday, the Joint Region Mariana - the US military command for Guam and the Mariana Islands -- would enter into an active recovery phase . Guam Governor Lourdes A Leon Guerrero and his deputies would also begin damage assessments on Tuesday morning, Joint Region Mariana announced. The western Pacific region is particularly prone to tropical cyclones. While storms of this strength are unusual for the US islands, scientists say climate change is making powerful typhoons more common. Residents in the region moved to emergency shelters and making last-minute preparations before the arrival of the super typhoon. In the Northern Mariana Islands, Rota - the southernmost inhabited island, about 50km north-east of Guam - took a direct hit, according to the NWS. The mayor's office published an advisory urging residents to prepare for "destructive winds", adding that "conditions are expected to deteriorate rapidly, making it unsafe to be outdoors". "We are hanging in there. We are experiencing heavy winds and flooding," a spokesperson for Rota's mayor told AFP, adding that some people had reported "major damages". On Saipan, north of Rota, wind gusts of more than 161km/h (100 mph) were recorded at the airport, meteorologist Marcus Landon Aydlett told the Associated Press. He added that many people on the island were already without power from the last super typhoon Sinlaku, which hit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in April - killing 17 people and causing about $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in damage.