Super Typhoon Fengshen is approaching US territory today, Saturday, the second such storm since April, as residents of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands brace for winds equivalent to Category 5 hurricanes.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said Typhoon Fengshen is located hundreds of kilometers east of the archipelago, packing winds of 259 kilometers per hour and gusts up to 314 kilometers per hour.

The US National Weather Service warned that current forecasts "paint a grim picture for the Mariana Islands," urging residents of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to prepare for tropical storm conditions.

Residents of the islands, numbering about 200,000, have flocked in recent days to gas stations, hardware stores, and supermarkets to buy food, water, and other essential supplies.

Preparations for the typhoon have overshadowed celebrations of the 250th anniversary of US independence, with both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands declaring a state of emergency.

The Northern Mariana Islands are home to about 40,000 people, while about 170,000 live in neighboring Guam, a separate US territory.

Super Typhoon Senlakou hit the region in mid-April, causing power outages for tens of thousands, uprooting trees, overturning cars, and tearing off metal roofs from buildings.