Earth's most powerful storm of the year roars across Pacific

The Earth's most powerful storm of 2015 — Super
Typhoon Soudelor — is now roaring through the western
Pacific Ocean with winds of 178 mph, the equivalent of a
Category 5 hurricane, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
said Monday.
The storm already ripped into Saipan, one of the
Northern Mariana Islands, a 48,000-population U.S.
commonwealth in the Western Pacific. Acting Gov. Ralph
D.L.G. Torres declared "a state of disaster and significant
emergency" there on Monday.
Soudelor (SOW-de-lore) is the strongest storm anywhere
on the planet so far this year. Typhoons are the Western
Pacific's version of hurricanes.
The typhoon is taking aim at Taiwan and China by Friday
and Saturday, though it is expected to weaken to a
Category 3 or 4 storm by then, the typhoon warning
center said.
The storm slammed into Saipan late Sunday into early
Monday, flooding the island’s power plant, ripping off
roofs and toppling power poles, the Pacific Daily News in
Guam reported. Hundreds of Saipan residents are in
shelters. Some roads remain impassable, and power and
water service are out.
“I’ve seen multiple primary power poles down. I’ve seen
cars flipped over the road. I’ve seen lots of torn roofs,”
said John Hirsh, executive director of the American Red
Cross in Saipan.
He said an initial assessment shows extensive damage
across the island. Hirsch said it felt as if the island took
a direct hit from the typhoon's full force between 11 p.m.
Sunday to 1 a.m. Monday, local time.
Soudelor is a Pohnpeian word for a legendary chief or
ruler, according to the National Weather Service.
Pohnpeian is a language spoken on the island of
Pohnpei in the Caroline Islands.