{"id":1577,"date":"2026-06-19T10:05:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1577"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:05:39","slug":"what-hawaii-can-learn-from-super-typhoon-sinlaku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1577","title":{"rendered":"What Hawaii can learn from Super Typhoon Sinlaku"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – March\u2019s Kona low storms showed the damage a slow-moving system can bring to Hawai\u02bbi. In April, an even more powerful tropical cyclone in the western Pacific crawled across the Mariana Islands, leaving widespread devastation.<\/p>\n

Read more Shelter in place or evacuate? How to increase your chances for survival in a hurricane<\/a><\/p>\n

Experts say it shows what can happen when powerful systems strike isolated islands.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuper Typhoon Sinlaku was a powerhouse storm, one of the strongest on the globe that we\u2019ve seen in all of 2026,\u201d said Landon Aydlett, a National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologist.<\/p>\n

The storm\u2019s impacts were immediate and widespread.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou see downed poles, basically every tree is downed. Roadways are obstructed, we also had a major road collapse at the entrance of a major village,\u201d said Thomas Manglona III, founder of Marianas Press.<\/p>\n

Sinlaku claimed 17 lives and displaced thousands, making it the deadliest storm in Micronesia since 2002.<\/p>\n

While Manglona has covered many disasters, he said this one was especially difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrawling as I was communicating to people as this thing was passing, most people can outrun this typhoon,\u201d said Aydlett.<\/p>\n

The storm\u2019s duration led to real devastation. Sinlaku crawled over islands like Tinian and Saipan at just 2 to 3 miles per hour, hammering the islands for three and a half days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact it took so long, many people were more scared of this storm than they were of Super Typhoon Yutu and previous storms before it,\u201d Aydlett said. \u201cThat says a lot because Yutu hit them as a 175 mph super typhoon. This one was a strong category 4 at 145 mph.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: <\/b>First Alert Hurricane Season 2026: Lessons from the Kona lows<\/b><\/p>\n

Saipan resident Derek Cutting, a former Hawaii resident, said the storm disrupted daily life and left many communities without power.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis storm really put a huge impact on the way life is in Saipan. It was the longest storm literally. Government\u2019s pretty much shut down. My entire village does not have power at all yet,\u201d Cutting said. \u201cIf you look outside now, every single tree is about six feet tall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saipan\u2019s power grid took a massive hit with more than 600 poles down, leaving thousands without power or water for months.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome areas have power, but because there\u2019s no transformer on a lot of the poles, a lot of houses or businesses don\u2019t have power, even though there\u2019s power on the street,\u201d said Cutting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that was not reinforced concrete was heavily damaged or nearly destroyed,\u201d Aydlett said.<\/p>\n

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At the peak of the storm, two National Weather Service Guam generators failed, forcing National Weather Service Hawaii to take over operations for several hours. Sensors and rain gauges were also destroyed by the elements.<\/p>\n

Read more Why preparation matters when disaster response is delayed<\/a><\/p>\n

Meteorologists had to rely on satellite-based remote sensing for rainfall estimates, Aydlett said.<\/p>\n

Even after the storm passed, deadly hazards remained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had two lives lost here on Guam. That was after the typhoon\u2019s passage due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generator use,\u201d Aydlett said. \u201cSo when it comes to hurricane threats in Hawaii, make sure you know how to use a generator properly. Do not use it inside your home.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hawai\u02bbi sends aid as recovery continues<\/h2>\n

Weeks after Sinlaku, only 50 percent of Saipan had power. In the aftermath, relief from Hawai\u02bbi supported recovery efforts.<\/p>\n

The Northern Mariana Islands (NMI) Club of Hawai\u02bbi partnered with Matson to ship storm recovery goods to families across the Northern Mariana Islands.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that we\u2019re also extending the aloha across the ocean and we\u2019re just grateful for the opportunity to be able to do this with the support of our partners,\u201d said LJ Duenas, a volunteer with the NMI Club of Hawai\u02bbi.<\/p>\n

Volunteers Maisie Tenorio and Asia Camacho Hilario said the effort was moving.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNear and far, we work better together and it\u2019s just so beautiful to witness,\u201d they said. \u201cInside the doors of the container, there were letters written by kids with pictures and everything. And it was just so emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Training across the Pacific highlights preparedness<\/h2>\n

Supplies aren\u2019t the only bridge connecting the islands.<\/p>\n

For the past 25 years, meteorologists from across the Pacific have traveled to Hawai\u02bbi to train with the National Weather Service Pacific Desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur purpose is to interact with folks from across the Pacific, but that\u2019s not just one way,\u201d said Jennifer Strahl, a National Weather Service Pacific Desk cohort meteorologist instructor. \u201cWe\u2019re obviously helping to build capacity in these MET offices, but we\u2019re also gaining knowledge from the participants that come. We want to enable them to be more resilient as a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of lessons learned,\u201d said Kaiekeke, a Kiribati meteorological office representative.<\/p>\n

For years, the cohort has partnered with Hawaii News Now to highlight the vital role of communication during severe weather events.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to apply everything that I\u2019ve learned here in my own island,\u201d said Maunana, a Kiribati meteorological office representative.<\/p>\n

As a developing El Ni\u00f1o takes shape, experts say the need to prepare across the entire Pacific is even more critical.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know what 2026 is going to bring us, especially this El Ni\u00f1o, but we are anticipating a lot of activity across the west Pacific, central Pacific, eastern Pacific,\u201d Aydlett said. \u201cAnd who knows which island is going to be taking a hit next. So we always have to be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more State finalizes agreement to acquire Wahiawa Dam and irrigation system<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After Super Typhoon Sinlaku\u2019s deadly hit in the Marianas, meteorologists say isolated islands like Hawai\u02bbi should prepare for longer, stronger storms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Hawaii can learn from Super Typhoon Sinlaku - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1577\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Hawaii can learn from Super Typhoon Sinlaku - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After Super Typhoon Sinlaku\u2019s deadly hit in the Marianas, meteorologists say isolated islands like Hawai\u02bbi should prepare for longer, stronger storms.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1577\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T10:05:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1577#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1577\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"What Hawaii can learn from Super Typhoon Sinlaku\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T10:05:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1577\"},\"wordCount\":941,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1577#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/5ffff719e81aa28cd246f398c3d7231c.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1577#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1577\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1577\",\"name\":\"What Hawaii can learn from Super Typhoon Sinlaku - 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