Typhoon Sinlaku latest: Coast Guard searching Pacific Ocean for 6 people after losing contact with boat
HAGATNA, Guam - The U.S. Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku.
US Coast Guard searches for 6 people following Typhoon Sinlaku
What we know:
The crew of the 145-foot dry cargo vessel, named the Mariana, notified the Coast Guard on April 15 that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said.
But communications with the vessel were lost the afternoon of April 16 and a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board.
The aircraft had to return to Guam because of heavy winds, but the search efforts were expected to resume at first light, Tibbets said.
The last known position of the vessel was about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north-northwest of Saipan, Tibbets said.
What we don't know:
The Coast Guard did not know the nationalities of the crew members.
About Super Typhoon Sinlaku
Dig deeper:
Super Typhoon Sinlaku began battering the Northern Mariana Islands earlier this week, causing damage on the islands of Tinian and Saipan and flash flooding in Guam, the site of several American military bases.
The terms typhoon and hurricane are regional names for the same weather phenomenon, the tropical cyclone.
EARLIER: Typhoon Mawar leaves Guam with widespread damage after raking US territory with 100+ mph winds
The term "super typhoon" is used when a typhoon’s sustained wind strength reaches 150 miles per hour, the equivalent of a strong category 4 or category 5 hurricane.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and several other federal agencies are ramping up their response to Typhoon Sinlaku as dangerous weather conditions ease and the islands’ shelter-in-place orders begin to lift, Robert Fenton, FEMA regional administrator for Region 9, which includes Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, said Friday.
What they're saying:
"This is a very complex event, but we have a lot of experience and have worked very closely with Guam and CNMI over the years to prepare for these types of events and are well-positioned to do that again here today," Fenton told The Associated Press in an interview from Guam.
Fenton said a slew of federal agencies are on the ground to support the local governments, including the Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services, and more.
The storm’s sheer size — with typhoon-force winds extending 275 miles (443 kilometers) from its center, according to the U.S. National Weather Service Guam — was unique, Fenton said, and meant island residents were subjected to roughly 48 hours of fierce winds, delaying responders' ability to assess damage and help communities.
"It slows down our ability to respond to those needs, and I think it’s more physically and mentally impactful to those that have to go through that," he said.
The Source: This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.