The Northern Marianas and Guam are bracing for Typhoon Dolphin's arrival this afternoon, with the island of Rota expected to take a direct hit.
Typhoon warnings have been declared in both territories, with flights cancelled, schools closed and non-essential government personnel told to stay home.
Typhoon Dolphin is heading towards Guam. Photo: Supplied
A meteorologist with the US National Weather Service on Guam, Genny Miller, says Dolphin is currently about 200 kilometres east of Guam and is expected to make landfall late this afternoon.
She says the typhoon is expected to bring damaging winds of up to 180 kilometres an hour.
"We are all expected to get some sort of strong winds throughout the duration of the typhoon and we are all in a typhoon warning. Our local Homeland Security officers have already issued Condition of Readiness One, so we are looking for the strongest winds to be happening later this afternoon and early evening."
Genny Miller says the typhoon is expected to have passed by tomorrow morning.
