Super Typhoon Sinlaku made landfall on Tinian and Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands on Tuesday.
The category 4 storm brought wind speeds of 130 miles per hour, heavy rain and massive waves. Most of Saipan is without power and floodwater remains several feet deep in some areas.
The intensifying typhoon comes just after American Red Cross efforts were winding down their recovery efforts on Oʻahu after the Kona low storms. Ken Quintanilla, executive director for the Guam chapter of the Red Cross, and Mimi Teller, interim communications director for the Pacific Islands region, spoke with HPR about how the region fared overnight.
“When it made landfall, some of the winds were up to 130-plus miles per hour, and then heavy rain and waves and people's homes were being damaged,” Quintanilla said.
“People experienced flooding, hearing the noise outside. It could be a little traumatizing.”
Teller said that with the American Red Cross already deployed across Hawaiʻi during the Kona low storms, they were well-equipped to address Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands as the typhoon struck.
“We deployed 100 people to Guam almost a week ago, and now we have a few dozen who will deploy from Hawaiʻi over to the Northern Mariana Islands that have been affected and any other support that's needed in Guam,” Teller said. “So we were ready, and we've been watching this, and that's what we do.”
Teller recounted her experience assisting with storm recovery after the back-to-back Kona low storms, saying that the strength and resilience of the community was a huge boost to morale.
“Even though we saw a lot of loss and a lot of damage, there was still the aloha spirit,” she said.
“So while it can be very exhausting and very painful to see all this loss, the spirit of aloha and the warmth and strength of the community really helps buoy not just the people affected, but our responders as well.”
With repeated storms battering the Pacific in the past few months, concerns over a changing climate highlight a critical need for increased disaster preparation.
“It used to be the Red Cross would respond to a $1 billion disaster about every 10 years. Now, I think we're on track that we have about seven $1 billion disasters a year,” Teller explained.
As the typhoon persists, the Red Cross continues to mobilize aid and support across Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
“A lot of what the team is doing is waiting for those advisories to be lifted so they can get to work on the field. But the Red Cross was here before, during, and will be here after the storm as well,” Quintanilla said.
To learn more or donate to the ongoing recovery efforts in Hawaiʻi and the Mariana Islands, contact 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit the American Red Cross website here.
This story aired on The Conversation on April 15, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
