Most powerful storm of 2015 aims at China, Japan
Super Typhoon Soudelor developed into the world's most powerful storm of the year yesterday as it took aim at Japan, Taiwan and China after trashing the Northern Marianas.
The storm was roaring across the western Pacific Ocean packing wind gusts up to 220 miles per hour (354 kph) according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center which rated it a maximum category five.
It was stronger than Cyclone Pam, the previous strongest storm of 2015, which killed at least 15 people when it slammed into Vanuatu, also in the Pacific, five months ago.
No deaths have been attributed to Soudelor, but it left a trail of destruction across the Northern Marianas where acting governor Ralph Torres declared a "state of major disaster and significant emergency" after it struck late Sunday.
Nearly 400 people were packed in emergency shelters after Soudelor ripped roofs off houses and left residents without power, water and wastewater services.
"I've seen multiple primary power poles down; I've seen cars flipped over the road; I've seen lots of torn roofs," John Hirsh, executive director of the American Red Cross in Saipan, told Pacific Daily News.
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