Super Typhoon Bavi: What to know, How you can help
My island home has once again been walloped by a powerful storm.
I write this from Washington, D.C., where conversations about extreme weather this weekend are dominated by heat waves, air quality alerts, and record-breaking temperatures. Climate change is increasingly impossible to ignore. For people living in air conditioned comfort like me, climate change is a dangerous inconvenience; for isolated islands like the Mariana Islands it is an existential threat.
This weekend, Super Typhoon Bavi passed directly over Rota before battering Guam and the rest of the Northern Mariana Islands with destructive winds, torrential rain, flooding, and widespread power outages. The storm arrived only a few months after Super Typhoon Sinlaku devastated Saipan and Tinian, forcing many families who were still recovering from one disaster to prepare for another.
For me, every major typhoon is a reminder that climate vulnerability is not distributed equally across the American political landscape. The people of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are American citizens, yet we remain largely invisible in national conversations and politically marginalized in the decisions that shape our future. When a storm strikes the Marianas, it reveals more than the power of nature. It exposes the consequences of chronic underinvestment, fragile infrastructure, and a political system that leaves territorial communities with little influence over the policies that affect them most.
I am safe in Washington, watching events unfold through news reports, social media posts, and messages from friends and family back home. But our coalition partners at Friends of the Mariana Trench, Micronesia Climate Change Alliance, and tens of thousands of friends and relatives across Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are living through this disaster right now.
As damage assessments begin, I want to share some ways that people can help our community.
Spread the Word
One of the most important things you can do is help bring attention to what is happening in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Bavi made a direct hit on Rota and caused damage across Guam, Saipan, and Tinian, yet many Americans remain unaware that these islands are owned by the United States.
Share credible news coverage. Amplify updates from local journalists, community members, and organizations on the ground. Repost photos and firsthand accounts when appropriate. The Mariana Islands often exist on the margins of American awareness. If people do not know these islands exist, they will not know that they need help.
Three Ways to Donate to Bavi Relief
As emergency crews begin assessing damage, local organizations are mobilizing to support impacted families. Monetary donations are often the fastest and most effective way to help.
Micronesia Climate Change Alliance
Our coalition partner, the Micronesia Climate Change Alliance, has repeatedly stepped up during disasters and recovery efforts throughout the region. They are once again be helping families affected by Bavi. They are accepting donations via PayPal, or you can visit their website:
Donate: https://www.mccalliance.org/
Ayuda Foundation
Another organization that I trust is the Ayuda Foundation, a Guam-based nonprofit with extensive experience moving relief supplies throughout Micronesia. Ayuda played an important role during previous disasters, including responses to Typhoons Mawar, Sinlaku, and other regional emergencies. They are accepting donations via PayPal, or you can mail a check to:
Ayuda Foundation
181 East Marine Corps Drive
Carl Rose Building #207
Hagåtña, Guam 96910
Website: https://www.ayudafoundation.org/
Another organization that I trust is the Ayuda Foundation, a Guam-based nonprofit with extensive experience moving relief supplies throughout Micronesia. Ayuda played an important role during previous disasters, including responses to Typhoons Mawar, Sinlaku, and other regional emergencies. They are accepting donations via PayPal, or you can mail a check to:
Ayuda Foundation
181 East Marine Corps Drive
Carl Rose Building #207
Hagåtña, Guam 96910
Website: https://www.ayudafoundation.org/
American Red Cross
If you prefer supporting a national organization, the American Red Cross has decades of experience operating in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and is often among the first organizations involved in disaster response and recovery.
You can donate by:
What makes Bavi particularly painful is not only the scale of the damage, but how quickly it followed the last disaster. Many of my friends and relatives were still repairing homes, restoring infrastructure, and rebuilding their lives after Super Typhoon Sinlaku when they were forced to prepare for another major storm.
This pattern is becoming increasingly familiar across the Pacific. Stronger storms, rising seas, and worsening climate impacts are testing the resilience of communities that have contributed little to the crisis itself. Yet the devastation that follows a typhoon is never solely the result of wind and rain. Political conditions matter. Underinvestment, aging infrastructure, economic dependency, and limited political representation all shape how vulnerable a community is before a disaster and how quickly it can recover afterward.
For those of us from the Marianas, climate change is inseparable from questions of justice, representation, and self-determination. The people of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are expected to live with the consequences of decisions made thousands of miles away while remaining excluded from full participation in the democratic institutions that govern us. That reality becomes especially difficult to ignore when families are once again sitting in the dark, wondering when power and water will return.
The Mariana Islands are resilient. Our people know how to take care of one another. Neighbors share food, clear roads, check on elders, and come together after every storm. But resilience should not be confused with an obligation to endure endless neglect.
As recovery begins in Rota, Guam, Tinian, and Saipan, I hope people across the United States will pay attention—not only to the immediate humanitarian needs, but also to the larger story these storms reveal. The question is not simply how we rebuild after Bavi. It is whether we are willing to invest in a future where communities in the Marianas have both the resources and the political power necessary to withstand the next storm before it arrives.
If you can help, thank you. Please consider donating, sharing information, and amplifying the voices of those on the ground. My thoughts are with everyone across the Mariana Islands as recovery begins once again.
If you prefer supporting a national organization, the American Red Cross has decades of experience operating in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and is often among the first organizations involved in disaster response and recovery.
You can donate by:
- Visiting redcross.org
- Calling 1-800-RED-CROSS
- Mailing a check to your local Red Cross office
What makes Bavi particularly painful is not only the scale of the damage, but how quickly it followed the last disaster. Many of my friends and relatives were still repairing homes, restoring infrastructure, and rebuilding their lives after Super Typhoon Sinlaku when they were forced to prepare for another major storm.
This pattern is becoming increasingly familiar across the Pacific. Stronger storms, rising seas, and worsening climate impacts are testing the resilience of communities that have contributed little to the crisis itself. Yet the devastation that follows a typhoon is never solely the result of wind and rain. Political conditions matter. Underinvestment, aging infrastructure, economic dependency, and limited political representation all shape how vulnerable a community is before a disaster and how quickly it can recover afterward.
For those of us from the Marianas, climate change is inseparable from questions of justice, representation, and self-determination. The people of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are expected to live with the consequences of decisions made thousands of miles away while remaining excluded from full participation in the democratic institutions that govern us. That reality becomes especially difficult to ignore when families are once again sitting in the dark, wondering when power and water will return.
The Mariana Islands are resilient. Our people know how to take care of one another. Neighbors share food, clear roads, check on elders, and come together after every storm. But resilience should not be confused with an obligation to endure endless neglect.
As recovery begins in Rota, Guam, Tinian, and Saipan, I hope people across the United States will pay attention—not only to the immediate humanitarian needs, but also to the larger story these storms reveal. The question is not simply how we rebuild after Bavi. It is whether we are willing to invest in a future where communities in the Marianas have both the resources and the political power necessary to withstand the next storm before it arrives.
If you can help, thank you. Please consider donating, sharing information, and amplifying the voices of those on the ground. My thoughts are with everyone across the Mariana Islands as recovery begins once again.
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