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![]() Thursday, December 18, 1997 Published at 07:25 GMT ![]() ![]() ![]() World ![]() Record typhoon winds ravage Guam
Typhoon Paka has ripped through the Pacific Island of Guam with winds gusting to a world record of 236 miles per hour.
Trees flew sideways injuring 100 people during the 12-hour storm. Thousands are now homeless.
No deaths were reported. Hospital officials said low barometric
pressure induced nine pregnant women to give birth.
"People just hunkered down and hung on for dear life," said
Philip Brady, a spokesman for the island's governor.
That speed topples the record on the Earth's surface of 231 mph (372 kph), set 63 years ago on top of the stormy Mount Washington in the US state of New Hampshire.
Locals lose "everything"
"No more Christmas for me," said John Cruz, 30, as
he stood where his wood-and-sheet metal house used to be. "I don't
know where I'm going to stay now."
Ben Mesa Jr, 32, and his wife, Mary, returned
home from a shelter to find their three-bedroom house gone.
"It's just a total loss," said Mr Mesa. "It may just be a
wood-and-tin home, but it was our house. Now we've lost
everything."
"This is one of the worst ones we've ever experienced in our
history," added Guam's governor, Carlo Gutierrez.
"It's like looking at a 'Victory at Sea' movie when you see the battleground. The trees are toppled and beheaded. There's metal all over the place."
The US President, Bill Clinton, proclaimed the island a major disaster area. Damage was estimated at $200m (£120m).
The remote Pacific island is now eligible for US disaster aid.
Paka was the first typhoon to strike Guam since Typhoon Omar hit
in 1992.
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