Guam on alert as Super Typhoon Bavi closes in

Howling winds and lashing rains battered Guam and the Northern Marianas late Sunday hours before the projected arrival of a "super typhoon" with equivalent force to a category-5 hurricane over the US Pacific territories.

Super Typhoon Bavi was forecast to roar westwards over the area early Monday with maximum sustained winds of up to 280 kilometres (173 miles) per hour and gusts of 333 kmh, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.