Guam remained in Condition of Readiness 1 early Wednesday as Typhoon Sinlaku continued moving away from the island, though officials warned that dangerous conditions were still ongoing.
Joint Region Marianas remained in TCCOR 1E, meaning destructive winds of 50 knots, or 57 mph, or greater were occurring. Installation access points remained closed, except for emergency department access at U.S. Naval Hospital Guam. Officials again warned residents to remain indoors until COR 4 is announced.
Typhoon Sinlaku weakens but remains dangerous
Sinlaku was downgraded from a super typhoon to a typhoon, but Guam remained under both a tropical storm warning and a typhoon watch.
As of 1 a.m., Typhoon Sinlaku was located at 15.1N and 145.7E, about 125 miles north-northeast of Guam. The storm was moving northwest at 5 mph with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.
Officials said Sinlaku would begin pulling away to the northwest from Tinian and Saipan over the next several hours before passing through the northern CNMI just west of Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan through the latter half of the week.
Damaging winds expected to continue through midday
Officials said severe tropical storm-force conditions were expected to persist across Guam as rain bands continued moving over the island, bringing heavy showers and wind gusts of up to 70 mph.
Those severe tropical storm-force winds were expected to gradually subside through daybreak, but damaging tropical storm-force winds of 39 mph or more were forecast to continue through midday. Officials said those winds would continue to pose risks to public safety, infrastructure and power lines.
Peak conditions were expected to decrease through the morning, with sustained winds of 40 to 60 mph and gusts of 70 to 85 mph falling to between 20 and 30 mph by the afternoon. Tropical storm-force winds of 39 mph or more were expected to continue until Wednesday afternoon.
Officials also again warned residents to stay out of the water, saying sea conditions remain life-threatening and are expected to stay dangerous through the end of the week.
Schools and colleges to remain closed Wednesday
All Guam Department of Education schools will remain closed Wednesday while the island remains under COR 1.
Officials said schools will stay closed until the governor declares COR 4 and GDOE completes inspections and cleaning to ensure campuses are safe to reopen.
Catholic schools, Guam Community College and the University of Guam also will remain closed while COR 1 remains in effect. Officials said those campuses are scheduled to reopen once COR 4 is declared and safety determinations are made.
Residents whose schools were not listed were advised to check directly with their campuses.
GPA limits aerial work as crews respond to outages
The Guam Power Authority said crews have been secured from aerial bucket truck work because of dangerous winds and strong gusts from Typhoon Sinlaku.
However, officials said crews continued working on the ground for other repairs as long as it was safe to do so. Power outages and fluctuations were expected during typhoon conditions.
GPA said safety remains the top priority and crews are prepared to begin key assessments and restoration efforts as soon as winds decrease to safe levels.
Water outages continue across the island
The Guam Waterworks Authority said it was aware of multiple outages throughout the island as a result of the typhoon.
As of 7 p.m., 79 wells remained online, including 19 on the island-wide power system and 60 on standby power generation.
Officials said sewer pump stations and wastewater treatment plants remained online, and no backups or sanitary sewer overflows had been reported at that time.
Residents were urged to report low or no water pressure, as well as wastewater backups and overflows, to GWA dispatch. Crews will respond as soon as weather conditions permit.
Crisis support remains available
Officials said the GBHWC Suicide and Crisis Lifeline remains available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Community members can call or text 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org.
