Typhoon Sinlaku, what meteorologists are calling the strongest tropical cyclone on earth this year, slowly bulldozed its way through the Marianas this week. Now the focus is on recovery and it will take a whole community effort. Here's a look from the heart of the island.

In East Agana, the roads were still closed-off Thursday morning as crews continue to clear-up debris left behind by Sinlaku. The strong winds of the Category 5 super typhoon brought the ocean water all the way to the road, flooding Marine Corps Drive 1 from Alupang to Anigua.

The Guam Police Department could be seen turning cars away on Route 1, with some 2.3 miles from Alupang Beach Club to House of Chin Fe shut down Thursday.

Rocks, fallen trees and other debris littered the highway. During the storm, the highway was underwater as waves reached the road. And it was a similar sight further down at Paseo. Bleachers and fences are in ruins at the baseball stadium, countless rocks and uprooted trees cover Paseo Park and the iconic “Hagatna Guam” sign is scattered.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service were seen conducting a post-storm survey, measuring wind damage and water levels to get a clear idea of the true impacts. Joshua Schank, lead meteorologist, explained, "We’re looking for high water marks, where the water has hit obstacles and left a trail of debris. That gives us an idea of how high the water was standing when it came onto shore."

Schank says compared to 2023's Typhoon Mawar, Guam is seeing a lot more debris due to the slow-moving Sinlaku. He said, "We were under these westerly winds for so long. Even though the winds were weaker, it just gave time for the surf and swell to build over a period of time. That just gave the waves much more time to get higher and higher and get pushed more and more inward."

KUAM News also caught up with Department of Parks and Recreation maintenance staff already on the job during COR1. Lorin Agustin said simply in reaction, "We just started, and...wow. Wow."

"A lot of trees went down, so we’ll be cutting down a lot of trees. We’re going to be picking up a lot of rocks. Paseo got rocked. We got rocked."

Agustin says Paseo is just the starting point, adding, "Nimitz Cemetery, we got Wusstig, we have Ipan, Ypaopao, Simon Sanchez, Fort Apugan, skatepark. We got 72 parks, they said."

It’s a long road of recovery ahead, but what keeps Agustin strong is community, as he noted, "Everyone can help out. That’s all I got to say. It’s our island, right?"

Typhoon Sinlaku impacting the whole island, from power and water outages, flooded neighborhoods to impassable roads. And crews across the island already hard at work to get things back to normal.

In the meantime, in Hagatna, while Chief Kepuha was cut down during Typhoon Mawar, he’s still standing strong after Sinlaku. Like our people, a symbol of strength and resilience during our island’s path to recovery.

Department of Public Works crews continue clean up along Marine Corps Drive 1 in East Hagatna.