Super Typhoon Bavi strikes US Pacific islands with pummeling winds

Howling winds and lashing rains battered Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands as super typhoon Bavi made landfall on Monday.

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.

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 06:00 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 by deploying emergency resources and scouting teams.

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.