Saipan Municipality, Northern Mariana Islands
Municipality storm and disaster record · FIPS 69110 · population 43,385
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 104 records for Saipan Municipality, Northern Mariana Islands from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 91 days; the most frequent are hurricane and tropical storm records (44 records). 104 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the June 27, 2004 rip current: 3 deaths. FEMA has issued 23 declarations naming the county since 1987, 21 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Super Typhoon Bavi” on August 3, 2026.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 104on 91 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 16322 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $671Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- FEMA declarations
- 23latest 2026
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Saipan Municipality most?
The most frequent records are hurricane and tropical storm records: 44 since 1997. 45% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1997 fell in September and October. Census land area gives no figure for Saipan Municipality under this code, so it carries no per-area rank.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 44 | 35 | 1997-2025 | 1 | 305 | $670M | – |
| Rip currents and high surf | 20 | 20 | 1998-2023 | 15 | 17 | – | – |
| Drought | 19 | 19 | 2016-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 12 | 11 | 1999-2005 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Floods | 5 | 5 | 2002-2024 | 0 | 0 | $101K | – |
| High wind and dust storms | 2 | 2 | 1997-2024 | 0 | 0 | $552K | – |
| Heavy rain | 1 | 1 | 2003-2003 | 0 | 0 | $32K | – |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | 2003-2003 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
When was the last damaging storm in Saipan Municipality?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 28, 2023 high surf (1 death).
A group of swimmers at the norther side of Marine Beach where caught by a large wave around 1300ChST on Saturday, April 29th. Most of the group was able to make it back to shore, but a 14-year-old male was swept into open water. Emergency services were notified shortly after the event, but were unable to recover the male.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1090556)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-07 | Tropical DepressionNorthern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-26 | Tropical StormNorthern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-24 | Storm Surge/TideSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-24 | Tropical DepressionSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-01 | DroughtSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-06-01 | DroughtSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-05-01 | DroughtSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-04-01 | DroughtSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-03-01 | DroughtSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-01 | DroughtSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-01-21 | DroughtSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2023-04-28 | High SurfSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-06-27 | Rip CurrentGarapan, Saipan Municipality Three Chinese women, ages unknown, drowned in rough waters and strong currents off Sugar Dock Beach near Garapan, Saipan. | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-01-02 | Rip CurrentSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan A 6 year old girl and a 16 year old boy died after being swept out into the ocean by waves while on a hike. The two people were part of a group of six hikers who encounter rough water and waves. The group hiked along the southeast coast of Saiapn near the Forbidden Island Sanctuary. The group of hikers included four ... | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2004-02-10 | Rip CurrentCountywide, Saipan Municipality A tourist and his wife drowned at Laulau Beach while snorkeling when strong rip currents and large waves carried them past the reef. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2018-10-24 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Northern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas A tropical disturbance was noted just northwest of Kosrae on the morning of October 21 near 8N160E. By the morning of October 22 the system had become Tropical depression 31W and was 130 miles north-northwest of Pohnpei. 31W continued to intensify through the day and by the afternoon of the 22nd became Tropical Storm ... | 1 | 121 | $589M | |
| 2008-01-20 | High SurfSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan At about 20:30 GST on January 20th, two crab hunters on a cliff-line ledge at Marine Beach on Saipan were swept into the open ocean by a large wave. One of the men sustained minor injuries but was able to get to shore. The other man, who was from Palau, never returned to shore and is presumed dead. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2004-08-21 | High SurfSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan A male Chinese tourist, 38, was taking pictures of his friends on the rocks of the Grotto at Marpi, Saipan. A very large wave came in suddenly, and swept him out over the reef. His body was never recovered. One of the friends was injured, requiring hospital care. The high surf was associated with the approach of ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2023-04-28 | High SurfSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan A group of swimmers at the norther side of Marine Beach where caught by a large wave around 1300ChST on Saturday, April 29th. Most of the group was able to make it back to shore, but a 14-year-old male was swept into open water. Emergency services were notified shortly after the event, but were unable to recover the ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2014-09-26 | Rip CurrentNorthern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas A 26 year old Marine from the Marine Wing Communication Squadron 18 based in Okinawa, Japan, was taking part in Exercise Valiant Shield and Forager Fury on Tinian. He went into the ocean on the northwest side of Tinian to cool off. It was reported that he was swept over the reef. He may have been caught in a rip ... | 1 | 0 | – |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-10-24 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Northern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas | 0 | 0 | $589M | |
| 2004-08-22 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Northern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas | 0 | 13 | $28M | |
| 2015-08-02 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Saipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 40 | $26M | |
| 1997-11-02 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Northern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas | 0 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2004-06-27 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Northern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas | 0 | 0 | $8.1M | |
| 2005-08-31 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Northern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas | 0 | 0 | $3.8M | |
| 2004-09-01 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Northern Islands Municipality and 3 more · forecast zone Northern Marianas | 0 | 0 | $781K | |
| 1997-08-12 | High WindSaipan Municipality · forecast zone Saipan | 0 | 0 | $552K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Saipan Municipality's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | – | – | – | – | 8 | 17 | 11 | 8 |
| Rip currents and high surf | – | – | – | – | 2 | 13 | 4 | 1 |
| Drought | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | – | – | – | – | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
45% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1997 fell in September and October. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 5 · Feb 6 · Mar 5 · Apr 10 · May 8 · Jun 8 · Jul 10 · Aug 14 · Sep 17 · Oct 14 · Nov 2 · Dec 5 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Saipan Municipality
FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Saipan Municipality: 14 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for typhoon (15) and tropical storm (5).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-03 | DR-4931 | Typhoon | Super Typhoon Bavi |
| 2026-07-03 | EM-3647 | Tropical Storm | Typhoon Bavi |
| 2026-04-23 | DR-4910 | Hurricane | Super Typhoon Sinlaku |
| 2026-04-11 | EM-3645 | Tropical Storm | Typhoon Sinlaku |
| 2023-10-08 | EM-3602 | Tropical Storm | Tropical Storm Bolaven |
| 2023-06-02 | DR-4716 | Tropical Storm | Typhoon Mawar |
| 2023-05-22 | EM-3593 | Tropical Storm | Typhoon Mawar |
| 2020-04-01 | DR-4511 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3463 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-10-20 | EM-3425 | Typhoon | Typhoon Bualoi |
| 2019-10-07 | EM-3424 | Typhoon | Typhoon Hagibis |
| 2018-10-26 | DR-4404 | Typhoon | Super Typhoon Yutu |
| 2018-10-23 | EM-3408 | Typhoon | Typhoon Yutu |
| 2018-09-29 | DR-4396 | Typhoon | Typhoon Mangkhut |
| 2018-09-10 | EM-3402 | Typhoon | Typhoon Mangkhut |
| 2015-08-05 | DR-4235 | Typhoon | Typhoon Soudelor |
| 2005-11-08 | DR-1611 | Typhoon | Typhoon Nabi |
| 2004-08-26 | DR-1541 | Typhoon | Flooding, High Surf, Storm Surge, and High Winds As A Result of Super Typhoon Ch |
| 2004-07-29 | DR-1532 | Typhoon | Flooding, High Surf, High Winds, and Wind-Driven Rain Associated W Typh Tingting |
| 2002-12-11 | DR-1447 | Typhoon | Super Typhoon Pongsona |
| 1997-12-08 | DR-1192 | Typhoon | Super Typhoon Keith |
| 1990-02-05 | DR-854 | Typhoon | Typhoon Koryn |
| 1987-11-03 | DR-800 | Typhoon | Typhoon Lynn |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Counties that share a border with Saipan Municipality
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Hurricanes and tropical storms in Northern Mariana IslandsThe state's hurricane and tropical storm records, by county, year and month
- The Northern Mariana Islands recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Saipan MunicipalityThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Saipan Municipality's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis