by Nick Delgado

Guam - Although we're not expecting to get the brunt of Sanvu we sure did get a feeling of its potential fury. Tropical Storm Sanvu swooped into Guam unexpectedly today dropping several inches of rain. Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Alyssa Benito said, "Anything can happen we were expecting it clear up today but it took another route and intensified."

Island residents woke up to a Tropical Storm Warning, which is still in effect. What this means is that from now until tomorrow morning we could experience tropical storm conditions, which in turn means you should have - by now - taken all necessary safety precautions, like securing all loose debris outside your home and stocking up on supplies. It's also advised that you stay out of the water.

"We saw a couple of residents in the water and were asking them to take it seriously the currents are very strong and can be life-threatening," said resident Toshio Takemura. "I check the tide chart and it's the perfect high tide this morning. It's good, very good, good enough for us, its small but good for us."

Village mayors in the meantime began preparing since Monday in anticipation of the inclement weather. Sinajana vice mayor Robert Hoffman said, "We're also making sure we're finding debris on the road we're making sure we're getting those taken care of like real estate signs, political signs and all the construction sites. Yesterday we cleared drains so are seeing not much flooding in the central area, but I know there's some flooding requests for Barrigada, Mongmong and other areas."

Several island residents were also without electricity including ten DOE schools - like at Agana Heights Elementary where students were left learning in the dark. Eva San Nicolas is the acting principal and said, "We had a fluctuation at around ten o'clock during our recess time and teachers informed us that part of the school campus was without of power and the remaining half of campus was still online."

For now, it's just a good idea to stay indoors. Sanvu should be out of our way overnight. Meteorologists add there are ring bands following the storm that will bring more rain and gusty winds throughout the evening. It's the reason why the warning for Guam has not yet been lifted.

Shortly after 6pm, the Tropical Storm Warning for Guam and the CNMI was called off.