Injuries reported in Marianas after Super Typhoon Yutu hits

Super Typhoon Yutu crossed over the US commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands early Thursday as the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, making it the strongest storm to hit any part of the US this year, the National Weather Service said.

Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands' delegate to US Congress, said the territory will need significant help to recover from the storm, which he said injured several people.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press from Saipan, Sablan said he has heard reports of injuries and that people are waiting at the island's hospital to be treated.

He could not provide further details or official estimates of casualties.

"There's a lot of damage and destruction," Sablan said.

"It's like a small war just passed through."
"We knew it was going to be big," he said, "but wow."
"I went upstairs and the skylight blew out. Then the roof started to go. We got the kids downstairs."
"This is going to be the storm which sets the scale for which future storms are compared to."
"Down at the restaurant it sounded like a Hollywood soundtrack with the intense rain and howling wind."
"Hawaii and others should study the Marianas to understand how to design and build communication grids that can withstand a storm."