Delos Reyes and her family had done what they could to prepare. They boarded up the windows. They bought gallons of drinking water and filled plastic drums to use in the shower and toilet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then the storm hit, and Delos Reyes grew scared. The winds, which had weakened to 150 mph, ripped the wood from a window. Rainwater gushed through the ceiling and soaked their belongings, including Delos Reyes\u2019 mattress. She and her partner, her mother, her daughter, and their two dogs hid in her mother\u2019s room, where its concrete roof and walls would keep them safe. She heard sections of the roof tumbling away. Eventually, Sinlaku slowed to a crawl, forcing tens of thousands of others to remain sheltered for days. \u201cHow long is this storm going to be with us?\u201d she prayed. \u201cI think, Lord, maybe it\u2019s enough, you can go and finish it elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than a month after Sinlaku tore across the Western Pacific, families in the Northern Mariana Islands and beyond are still grappling with a lack of electricity and clearing debris as they pick up what\u2019s left of their homes.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Sinlaku-4.jpeg\")
Debris litters Garapan, the center of Saipan\u2019s tourism district, in late May, more than a month after Sinlaku hit the island. Anita Hofschneider \/ Grist<\/p>\n
The region-wide death toll \u2014 including Guam and the Federated States of Micronesia \u2014\u00a0has ticked up to 17<\/a>, making Sinlaku the deadliest storm in the Micronesian region of the Pacific since 2002. The deaths include a couple on Guam who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning while running their generator indoors, as well as six crew members of the cargo ship Mariana, which was caught in the storm when its engine died.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia, the storm killed nine people, including a baby whose pregnant mother couldn\u2019t reach the hospital due to fallen trees. Other deaths were attributed to a boat capsizing and a tree falling on someone.<\/p>\n Strong storms are common in the Micronesian region of the Pacific but rarely this deadly. Shel Winkley, a meteorologist at Climate Central<\/a>, said Sinlaku\u2019s sudden escalation happened over ocean waters 0.6 degrees Celsius warmer than average \u2014 temperatures made 70 to 100 times more likely due to climate change, which is caused by the burning of fossil fuels like oil and gas. Scientists have long warned that rising marine temperatures can enable storms like Sinlaku to get stronger faster and hold more moisture, leading to increased flooding. \u201cIn general, climate change is making events like this more intense at their peak intensity,\u201d Winkley said. Sinlaku was named for the Kosraean goddess of breadfruit in the Federated States of Micronesia \u2014 a cultural staple also threatened by climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Pacific is home to many Indigenous peoples who have contributed relatively little to greenhouse gas emissions, yet are already bearing its disastrous effects, ranging from stronger storms to rising seas. Their nations are increasingly calling on major polluters like the U.S. and China to be accountable for their carbon emissions and help bear the cost of the extreme weather wreaking havoc on their communities. The Federated States of Micronesia was among 140 countries last week that voted in favor of a United Nations resolution<\/a> affirming that state governments have a legal obligation to protect the earth from the harm caused by greenhouse gases, and nations that fail to do so must pay climate reparations. The U.S., which claims sovereignty over the CNMI and Guam, was one of just eight nations that voted against the resolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n The latest available report from emergency officials in Chuuk State, the part of the Federated States of Micronesia hardest hit by the typhoon, estimates that the storm destroyed or severely damaged<\/a> more than 7,000 homes in Chuuk and Yap and displaced more than 13,000 people. \u201cAccess to safe water is critically compromised, food reserves are depleting rapidly, and the outer islands face growing isolation as maritime supply lines remain constrained,\u201d the report warned.\u00a0<\/p>\n U.N. agencies such as the International Organization for Migration<\/a>, along with nonprofit organizations and countries like the U.S. <\/a>and China, have been providing typhoon relief for Chuuk. The growing Micronesian diaspora in the U.S. has also mobilized to send food and money. \u201cThey\u2019re going to need financial support to rebuild their houses. They\u2019re going to need chainsaws to cut down trees,\u201d Josie Howard, head of the Honolulu-based nonprofit We Are Oceania<\/a>, told Hawai\u2018i Public Radio<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, officials are still counting the number of homes destroyed and people displaced. But as of last week, piles of debris still littered roadsides, and the entire island of Tinian remained without electricity. Families opened their windows to catch breezes, seeking relief from the humidity and 80-plus degree weather. Indigenous fishermen caught ti\u2019ao, or goatfish, to feed their families fresh dinners in the absence of refrigeration. Residents of Guam bought so many battery-powered Ryobi fans to send their loved ones on more affected islands that the Home Depot ran out. In both the CNMI and Chuuk, children were missing school because their schoolhouses had been severely damaged and, in some cases, destroyed, with many not expected to return for months.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Typhoon-Sinlaku-satellite.jpg\")
A https:\/\/www.climatecentral.org map rendering of Category 5 Super Typhoon Sinlaku southeast of Japan in April 2026.
\n FrankRamspott \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Sinlaku-3.jpeg\")
Fallen trees line the road leading up to Marpi in the northern part of Saipan more than a month after Sinlaku devastated the island. Anita Hofschneider \/ Grist<\/p>\n