Authorities on Rota on Monday said they had received reports from residents of "major damage" as Super Typhoon Bavi roared over the US Pacific island.

"We are hanging in there. We are experiencing heavy winds and flooding here at Rota's MOC. Some people already reporting major damages," the Rota mayor's operations centre public information officer Lou Rosario said.

The super typhoon made landfall on Rota in the Pacific on Monday, the National Weather Service said, warning of "catastrophic damage and (a) life threatening situation".

"The western eyewall of Super Typhoon Bavi is currently moving over the island of Rota. The latest forecast intensity is at 180 mph as it passes over Rota," the NWS said. "Catastrophic winds exceeding 150 mph will continue across Rota during eyewall passage."

The weather system also brought extremely strong winds and lashing rain to other parts of the Northern Marianas and the nearby separate US territory of Guam, collectively home to around 210,000 people.

The island group around 6,000 miles west of the western mainland United States was already hit by another super typhoon in April, Sinlaku, that caused widespread devastation, ripping off roofs, knocking over trees and leaving tens of thousands without power.

The NWS had said that a direct hit on Rota would make most of the island "uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. Many non-concrete, non-reinforced homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse."

"Nearly all trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months," it said.

"By working together and taking the necessary precautions, we can help protect our families, neighbours and community. We pray for the safety of our people," Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog had said on Sunday.

The small island, the southernmost of the Northern Marianas, is home to around 1,500 people. (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong