bringing the equivalent of category-5 hurricane winds. Bavi was several hundred kilometers east of the archipelago with sustained winds of 259 kilometers per hour (161 miles per hour), and gusts of 314 kilometers per hour (195 miles per hour), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said in an update at 7:00 am Guam time (2100 GMT Friday). "Current forecast tracks continue to indicate a grim outlook for the Marianas," the US National Weather Service warned. "All residents across Guam and the (Northern Mariana Islands) should plan for and anticipate at least tropical storm conditions."

The islands' roughly 200,000 inhabitants queued at gas stations in recent days and thronged hardware stores to buy plywood and supermarkets for food, bottled water and other essentials. Jeff Garcia, 48, who lives in Kagman Village in the Northern Marianas, told AFP that safety was the top priority, adding that they had "weathered super typhoons before." "We bought basic needs like water, candles, batteries, and canned goods... As a community, our greatest defense is our unity, our preparation, and our discipline," he said. (Bssnews)