Trump Approved Two Pre-Landfall Emergency Declarations for Guam and CNMI Within 24 Hours
Super Typhoon Bavi, a Category 5 storm with sustained winds near 180 mph, struck the U.S. territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in early July 2026, prompting back-to-back federal Emergency Declarations on July 3 and 4 that authorized FEMA Public Assistance at a 75% federal cost share. As of July 6, no Major Disaster Declaration had been requested or approved for either territory, meaning FEMA Individual Assistance remains unavailable to affected households pending post-landfall damage assessments. The CNMI response is further complicated by an overlapping recovery from Typhoon Sinlaku, whose own Major Disaster Declaration was approved just months earlier in April 2026.