U.S. Territories and Disaster Response

Super Typhoon Sinlaku tore across the Northern Mariana Islands overnight, making landfall on Saipan and Tinian with sustained winds near 150 mph and gusts higher, after strengthening over open water to a peak near 180 mph and later stabilizing in the upper 170s. The storm's core crossed Tinian and Saipan late Monday local time, with a broad wind field — typhoon-force winds extending roughly 80 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds reaching out as far as 275 miles — producing prolonged destructive conditions as the system slowed over the islands. President Donald Trump approved emergency disaster declarations for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and FEMA has mobilized, coordinating nearly 100 staff along with EPA, DOT and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel; officials said federal response activities are continuing despite ongoing constraints tied to a record-long Department of Homeland Security shutdown.