Guam, 2002

Flood in Guam, September 20, 2002

September 20, 2002 · NWS GUA · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Flooding occurred on Saipan. rocks and all sorts of debris were washed down by rainwater from the hills to nearby roads in Dandan, As Lito, Chalan Kiya, Chinatown, Garapan, Tanapag, San Roque, Achugao, Capital Hill and Kagman.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$40,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GUA wrote it up.

Flooding occurred on Saipan. rocks and all sorts of debris were washed down by rainwater from the hills to nearby roads in Dandan, As Lito, Chalan Kiya, Chinatown, Garapan, Tanapag, San Roque, Achugao, Capital Hill and Kagman. A few people were temporarily evacuated from homes in Chinatown and Tanapag. The houses were not destroyed. They just had a big volume of water, coupled with mud, rushed into their houses. On Guam 4.72 inches fell at the NWS office in Guam with 2.43 inches falling between 0400 to 1000.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS GUA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 19, 3:58 PM SST, 12 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 19, 3:58 PM SST, 12 hours 2 minutes before
AREA SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU
1 PM GUAM LST FRI SEP 20 2002

WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC BETWEEN EQUATOR AND 25N FROM 130E TO 180.

A MONSOON TROUGH EXTENDS FROM 14N130E TO A WEAK CIRCULATION NEAR
14N132E THEN NORTHEASTWARD TO 16N137E TO A LOW PRESSURE CENTER NEAR
23N139E. CONVERGENCE OF STRONG MONSOON WINDS IS GENERATING NUMEROUS
SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN 10N AND 17N FROM 138E TO
148E...INCLUDING THE MARIANA ISLANDS SOUTH OF PAGAN.

CONVERGENCE OF WIND FLOW INTO THE LOW SOUTHWEST OF IWO JIMA IS
PRODUCING SCATTERED SHOWERS NORTH OF A LINE FROM 25N135E TO 22N139E
TO 25N148E...AND WITHIN 120 MILES OF A LINE FROM 24N147E TO 16N150E.

LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE NORTH OF PALAU IS GENERATING SCATTERED SHOWERS
BETWEEN 9N AND 17N FROM 130E TO 135E.

LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE AROUND A WEAK CIRCULATION NEAR 22N159E
COMBINED WITH FAVORABLE UPPER-LEVEL WINDS IS PRODUCING SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITHIN 200 MILES OF A LINE FROM
24N158E TO 19N170E...INCLUDING WAKE ISLAND.

LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH A CIRCULATION NEAR 8N176W IS
GENERATING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF THE
MARSHALL ISLANDS BETWEEN 4N AND 14N EAST OF A LINE FROM 14N173E TO
4N175E.

STRONG HIGH PRESSURE CONTINUES TO SUPPRESS CLOUDS AND SHOWERS FROM
CHUUK EASTWARD TO THE WESTERN MARSHALL ISLANDS BETWEEN THE EQUATOR
AND 15N FROM 152E TO 170E.

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Saipan

When
September 20, 4:00 AM SST to 4:00 PM SST
Where
Saipan forecast zone
Property damage
$40,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Guam in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Guam, September 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5325266.