Sinlaku rips through Northern Mariana Islands as strongest tropical cyclone this year | Extreme weather

Super Typhoon Sinlaku hit the Northern Mariana Islands, knocking over cars, knocking down power poles and blowing off tin roofs.

Authorities were just beginning to assess the damage left behind by the typhoon, which first hit the islands on Tuesday night local time and continued with high winds and incessant rain for hours on Wednesday. There has been no news of any death so far.

Power was out and most roads were impassable in the U.S. territory of Saipan, the largest of the Mariana Islands and home to about 43,000 people, according to local officials.

The storm also hit Guam, another US territory where many US military bases are located, with tropical-force winds.

The typhoon, the strongest tropical cyclone on Earth this year, was packed with sustained winds of up to 140 mph when it touched down on the islands, the National Weather Service said.

The monster storm still had winds of 200 km/h late Wednesday night as it moved northward from Saipan, Tinian and Rota islands, the weather service said. Sinlaku is expected to begin curving toward the sparsely populated volcanic islands north of the Marianas.

About 24 hours after the typhoon shook the islands, the weather was still very windy and rainy but much better than the night before, said Jaden Sanchez, spokesman for the Saipan mayor’s office.

Preliminary reports include numerous floods, uprooted trees and downed power lines, but no deaths, he said.

Images from Saipan show residential areas littered with debris and crushed trees. Wind tore apart metal stands on a sports field.

One resident, Dong Min Lee, took a video of a car sitting on top of two cars in the parking lot of his apartment building. The wind tore off part of the balcony railing.

The American Red Cross and its partners are sheltering more than 1,000 residents in Guam and the Northern Marianas, agency spokeswoman Stephanie Fox said.