Typhoon Bavi, the western Pacific's ninth named storm of the season, has intensified into a violent, Category 5-equivalent super typhoon and is tracking toward the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, which it is forecast to pass near at or close to peak strength around July 6. As of the latest advisories the storm's central pressure had fallen to about 920 hectopascals with maximum sustained winds near 55 meters per second, roughly 200 kilometers per hour.
The forecast then carries Bavi northwest toward Japan, with the storm expected to weaken slightly but remain dangerous as it approaches south of Okinawa around July 8 and turns toward the Sakishima Islands in the days after. Japanese forecasters have urged residents of the Ryukyu chain to prepare early, while parts of Kyushu are still cleaning up from earlier flooding — a reminder that the season's storms are arriving in quick succession.