Sailors assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 load bottled water into an MH-60S Sea Hawk while supporting disaster-relief efforts in the wake of Super Typhoon Sinlaku at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, April 18, 2026. (U.S. Navy)
Department of Defense Education Activity schools on Guam planned to reopen Tuesday alongside some public schools as the island juggles power and water shortages and public health concerns following a near miss from a powerful storm last week.
The slow-moving Super Typhoon Sinlaku passed 100 miles northeast of the island on April 14, bringing flooding rain and winds of 88 mph, according to the Weather Channel. The storm next bore down on the Northern Mariana Islands, where it struck on Wednesday with winds of 145 mph, according to NASA.
The power grid on Guam, the westernmost U.S. territory, was operating Monday at 88% capacity, according to a news release from the island government’s Joint Information Center.
Ninety of the island’s 98 water wells were online as of noon, although more than 2,500 customers had low to no water pressure and water conservation measures were in effect, the release said.
All four DODEA schools - Andersen Elementary, Andersen Middle, McCool Elementary/Middle and Guam High School - were slated to reopen Tuesday, according to a news release from DODEA Western Pacific.
At least 27 schools under Guam’s Department of Education were also cleared to reopen Tuesday. However, more than a dozen remain closed until further notice, according to a Monday evening news release from the Joint Information Center. The University of Guam, the Guam Community College and most of the island’s charter and private schools resumed classes Monday.
A member of the U.S. Coast Guard assesses Saipan's Smiling Cove on April 18, 2026, in the wake of Super Typhoon Sinlaku. (Whip Blacklaw/U.S. Coast Guard)
Andersen Air Force Base, Naval Base Guam and Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, after initial assessments Saturday, found only “minor facility impacts and localized service disrupted,” said Joint Region Marianas spokeswoman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kristina Wiedemann.
“Installations are currently operational and ready to support joint forces, including providing assistance to civil authorities and supporting our neighbors in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as needed,” she said by email.
Ports in the Northern Marianas were in dire straits, according to the Joint Information Center and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Islands just northeast of Guam, including Saipan, Tinian and Rota, were among the hardest hit by Sinlaku, according to a Sunday news release from Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam.
Saipan on Monday reopened its port for daytime-only operations, while Coast Guard crews continued to evaluate Rota and Tinian, which remain closed pending further inspection, Coast Guard Sector Guam said in a news release that day.
The three islands represent the majority of the Northern Marianas’ approximately 44,000 residents and depend on their ports for daily supplies, making their reopening a high priority.
“We have crews moving now, and distance is not going to slow us down,” Capt. Jessica Worst, sector commander and the Coast Guard official overseeing Guam and Northern Mariana ports, said in the release.
