Powerful super typhoon takes aim at remote U.S. islands in Pacific

World Powerful super typhoon takes aim at remote U.S. islands in Pacific By Emily Mae Czachor Emily Mae Czachor News Editor Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek. Read Full Bio Emily Mae Czachor Updated on: April 14, 2026 / 8:52 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Super Typhoon Sinlaku is closing in on remote U.S. territories in the western Pacific Ocean, threatening to bring extremely powerful winds, thunderstorms and widespread flooding when it barrels over the northern Marianas Islands on Tuesday, forecasts show.Sinlaku's inner eyewall came ashore on the Marianas islands of Tinian and Saipan at around 10:15 p.m. local time, which was around 8:15 a.m. ET, according to the latest update from the National Weather Service office in Guam. At the time, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, equating to a strong Category 4. "As the eye moves over the islands, a short reprieve of winds and rains will occur before stronger winds on the backside of the storm move across Tinian and Saipan," the weather service said. "Everyone should remain sheltered in place even if the winds temporarily become calm within the eye."Video shared by the Associated Press showed the early impacts of the super typhoon on Saipan, as Sinlaku hovered offshore, launching fierce winds and rain toward the island. Earlier in the night, the storm had become "nearly stationary" about 30 miles off the coast of the archipelago for several hours.Home to three U.S. military bases and about 170,000 people, Guam is not expected to see a direct hit from the super typhoon. However, wind gusts of up to 80 mph have already been recorded on the island and tropical-storm-force winds were forecast to continue through Wednesday afternoon, according to Guam's Joint Information Center."Even...