Typhoon shelters in the Northern Marianas are filling up as people prepare for Typhoon Mangkhut.
The typhoon is expected to pass between the island of Rota and Guam as a category three storm about 4pm local time.
Typhoon Mangkhut Photo: NOAA
Our correspondent on Saipan Mark Rabago said businesses and schools were closed and people have been lining up for supplies.
He said everyone, including the government, has learnt the lessons from Typhoon Soudelor which caused severe damage three years ago.
"Basically the people are taking it seriously getting provisions, trying to get water, gassing up. We never saw this in the days before Soudelor and the government has stepped up too. before they didn't have this kind of warnings," Mark Rabago said.
He said two of the eight shelters in the Northern Marianas were already full this morning.
Typhoon Mangkhut is forecast to bring destructive winds of at least 120 kilometres an hour.
Typhoon shelters in the Northern Marianas are filling up as people prepare for Typhoon Mangkhut. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Mark Rabago
Guam preparations
People on Guam are also being urged to prepare for destructive winds to hit the island from this afternoon, as Typhoon Mangkhut moves in.
Residents in the north of the island have already started pouring into emergency shelters some of which are already filled to capacity.
The effects of the typhoon are due to be felt in Guam from this evening, with the island bracing for as much as a metre-and-a-half of rain.
The National Weather Service said all boats should seek safe harbour and be tied down, and loose objects should be secured.