Guam and CNMI spared a direct hit from Dolphin

9:37 am on 16 May 2015

The US National Weather Service on Guam says the Northern Marianas and Guam were spared a direct hit from typhoon Dolphin overnight, but both territories still felt the strong winds and whipping rain associated with the storm's eye wall.

Typhoon Dolphin image

Typhoon Dolphin image Photo: The US National Weather Service on Guam

The category two system passed through the 64 kilometre wide channel that separates the U.S. territories overnight.

Though the typhoon did not make a direct landfall on either island, both saw the strong winds and whipping rain associated with the storm's eye wall.

A meteorologist with the US National Weather Service on Guam, Michael Zilboro, says the typhoon passed north of Guam with gusts of over over 170 kilometres an hour.

"In the northern part of the island, a gust of 106 miles per hour [170 kph], so I am sure there was some damage somewhere, and there were also occasional power outages across the island."

Michael Zilboro says wave heights peaked above 20 feet off the coast of Guam before the buoy stopped reporting.

The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.

Our correspondent, Mark Rabago, has the latest from the CNMI.

"Rota's Mayor Efraim Atalig says typhoon Dolphin left the island quite a bit of damage based on preliminary assessment of the typhoon's passing of the island. He says the island is still in blackout. He says this morning he will have a more accurate assessment on what happened. But fortunately he said there were no causalities reported.

Mark Rabago says the CNMI governor has ordered the ports and airport to remain closed on the main island Saipan.

Damage on Saipan, CNMI.

Workers clear trees on Saipan following typhoon Dolphin. Photo: Supplied

He says Eloy Enos has also ordered emergency officals to go around Saipan to warn people to not leave their homes, and Governor Enos has also appealed to businesses on Saipan to not open today.

The CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Services says typhoon Dolphin continues to pack maximum sustained winds of over 177 kph and is moving west north-west at 20 kilometres an hour as it exits the Marianas.