Typhoon Champi: Guam Avoids a Direct Hit, but Half Loses Power

What happened

Typhoon Champi came within about 10 miles of Guam early Sunday, Oct. 18, but its eye stayed offshore. The center passed south of the island’s southern tip, near the village of Merizo, at 4:26 a.m. local time (2:26 p.m. ET Saturday), according to the National Weather Service office in Tiyan, as reported by The Guam Daily Post. Around that time, Champi reached super typhoon strength, with sustained winds of 150 mph.

The near miss still cut power to about half of Guam. The Guam Power Authority said roughly 75% of the island had electricity at 5:30 a.m. and about 50% by 7:50 a.m., as shifting winds knocked circuits in central and northern Guam offline, according to a government update. At Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s request, President Trump signed off on an emergency declaration, which lets FEMA coordinate federal assistance.

Early reports showed no widespread serious damage, though the far south, closest to the eye, had not yet been checked. Three people went to Guam Memorial Hospital’s emergency room with storm-related problems, and all were sent home, The Watchers reports.

Why Guam got off lighter than feared

Saturday’s forecast had warned of 110 to 130 mph winds, gusts as high as 160 mph and 8 to 14 inches of rain. What arrived was far milder for most of the island. Two features of the storm made the difference:

• A tiny eye. Champi’s eye was only about 5 miles across, and its winds fell off sharply within 10 to 15 miles of the center. A 10-mile miss kept most of Guam outside the worst of it.
• A quick pass. The typhoon was moving at 15 to 16 mph, so the island spent less time under its wind and rain.

The airport recorded gusts of 80 to 85 mph, and rainfall totaled 1 to 3 inches by midday Sunday, the Daily Post reported. Wind gauges at the airport, Apra Harbor and Pago Bay never logged the 74 mph sustained winds needed to declare typhoon conditions.

The weather service was clear about how narrow the escape was. Brandon Aydlett, the office’s science and operations officer, told the Daily Post a landfall “would have been a devastating event.”

For comparison, Typhoon Mawar in May 2023 battered central and northern Guam with Category 3 to 4 conditions. The weather service compared Champi more closely to Typhoon Bavi, though Champi’s effects lasted a shorter time.

Power, water and schools

Sources: Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense releases and The Watchers.

Power stayed on for key sites, including Naval Base Guam, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam Memorial Hospital and the Tumon hotel district, officials said. A water treatment plant on the Ugum River was taken offline because floodwater made the river too murky, though its reservoir kept supplying customers.

The Associated Press reported that airports, harbors and some health facilities across the territories had closed, and that FEMA said it could take three to five days for its resources to reach the islands.

What a “super typhoon” means

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, run by the U.S. military, calls a typhoon “super” when its sustained winds reach 150 mph. That’s the top of Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale used for hurricanes; Category 5 starts at 157 mph. Champi had 130 mph winds Saturday evening, so it gained about 20 mph overnight as it approached Guam.

It’s also part of a busy stretch. FOX Weather notes four other tropical systems have threatened the Mariana Islands this season.

What happens next

On Guam, the island was still at Condition of Readiness 1, the highest alert level, as of Sunday afternoon. Residents were told to remain inside sturdy concrete buildings until officials announce COR 4, even if the weather seems calm. The governor will decide when to give the all-clear. High surf and coastal flood warnings run until 4 a.m. Monday local time, with surf of 18 to 25 feet on east- and south-facing reefs. Weather service staff plan to survey far southern Guam on Monday.

Champi itself is moving west-northwest across the Philippine Sea. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center briefly dropped it below super typhoon strength Sunday night as a second eyewall formed and dry air worked in. But it expects the storm to re-strengthen to about 161 mph, which would be Category 5 territory, before gradually weakening, The Watchers reports.

The center’s official forecast puts Champi east of southern Taiwan by Oct. 23. Computer models agree closely for about three days, then split: some steer it toward the East China Sea, others toward southern Taiwan. Anyone in Taiwan should keep an eye on forecasts later this week.

Over in the eastern Pacific, Mexico had its own close call this weekend. See our update on Hurricane Trudy.

Quick answers

Did Typhoon Champi make landfall on Guam?

No. Its center stayed over water, roughly 10 miles off the island’s south end, at its closest point at 4:26 a.m. local time Oct. 18. Southern Guam took the strongest winds.

Is Guam under an all-clear?

Not as of Sunday. The island remained at Condition of Readiness 1, and Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero will decide when to lift it. Check Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense and the National Weather Service in Guam for updates.

Where is Typhoon Champi going next?

West-northwest across the Philippine Sea, possibly regaining super typhoon strength. The official forecast places it east of southern Taiwan by Oct. 23, with paths after that still uncertain.