Super Typhoon Champi skirts Guam, heads west across Philippine Sea

Super Typhoon Champi passed just south of Guam early Sunday local time, sparing the U.S. Pacific territory a direct hit but lashing its southern villages with damaging winds and heavy rain, according to Guam's emergency management office and the National Weather Service.

Guam's Joint Information Center said the storm made its closest approach at about 4:26 a.m., roughly 10 miles south of Merizo. Officials kept the island at its highest alert level and told residents to stay indoors, warning of downed power lines and debris on roads.

Damage appears limited so far

The Guam Daily Post reported, citing the weather service, that Champi strengthened to a super typhoon around its closest approach with sustained winds of 150 mph. Most of Guam saw tropical-storm-force winds with stronger gusts, and preliminary reports showed no widespread significant damage, though the far south had not yet been assessed.

The Guam Waterworks Authority said 72 of its 98 operating wells were running on backup generators, and some neighborhoods reported low or no water pressure, the information center said.

The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Guam on Saturday. The islands are still recovering from two super typhoons earlier this year, the AP noted.

Where it goes next

By late Sunday morning, Champi was about 95 miles west-southwest of Guam and moving west-northwest, the weather service said, according to the Guam Daily Post. Forecasters said it could reach Category 5 by Monday and stay at super typhoon strength through Wednesday over the Philippine Sea.