Typhoon Shinraku hit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands starting April 11 after rapidly intensifying into a Category 5 storm.
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The U.S. territory is recovering after a Category 5 super typhoon hit islands in the western Pacific Ocean ahead of peak storm season.
Typhoon Shinraku hit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands starting April 11 after rapidly intensifying into a Category 5 storm. Territorial and federal authorities declared a state of emergency. The storm caused power outages, flooded homes, and tore off roofs. No deaths have been reported so far.
The powerful storm, with wind speeds reaching at least 175 mph, occurred before most typhoons form between May and October, but NASA said the season is year-round in the Western Pacific.
“We are actively recovering to get our people back to work and live,” Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said in an April 16 video address.
On April 17, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared a public health emergency. HHS officials are working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist with public health and medical assistance as needed. Health officials are also seeking to identify Medicare recipients who use medical equipment that relies on electricity, such as dialysis or oxygen, to help people at risk from the storm’s effects.
President Kennedy said in an April 18 statement that “HHS stands by the people of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as they cope with the health impacts of Typhoon Shinraku.” “We are working closely with our local and federal partners to deploy teams to assess needs and provide medical and public health assistance as the situation allows.”
President Donald Trump approved a state of emergency for Guam and then the Northern Mariana Islands, allowing FEMA to coordinate disaster relief.
Home to approximately 154,000 people, Guam is an independent territorial island south of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, an archipelago of 14 islands with approximately 47,300 residents.
Typhoon Shinraku, which formed southeast of Guam, occurred during an El Niño year when waters in the Pacific Ocean naturally warmed. This means that while the Atlantic basin may have a more difficult time developing hurricanes, some areas of the Pacific Ocean may create better conditions for tropical cyclones.
Shinraku is the second Category 5 storm of 2026. Tropical Storm Horacio in the southern Indian Ocean reached speeds of 160 mph in late February.
Forecasters are warning that the dangerous storms could intensify quickly, even though early forecasts predicted a lower-than-normal Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane season begins in June.
