Typhoon season takes early toll

The death toll from Typhoon Chata'an is expected to rise

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- The Pacific typhoon season has begun with a vengeance this year with two major systems weaving a path of destruction across the region.

In the western Pacific, Typhoon Chata'an has now hit the U.S. territory of Guam after cutting a deadly swathe through Micronesia, while further north Typhoon Rammasun is skirting the coast of China and heading towards the Korean peninsula.

All power has been cut on Guam and its airport is closed as winds of up to 190 kilometers an hour (120 mph) strike.

Guam, home to around 150,000 people and a large U.S. naval base, has also been forced to cancel its Fourth of July celebrations.

The typhoon had earlier wrought havoc through the sparsely populated, low-lying atoll nations of Micronesia, with as many as 39 people feared killed so far by floods and mudslides.

Micronesian government public information officer Lynn Narruhn told The Associated Press the death toll was expected to rise as reports were received from the outer islands.

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Hardest hit so far was the atoll of Chuuk -- formerly the Caroline Islands -- where dozens of people were buried by more than 30 mudslides triggered by the fierce winds and rains.

Further north, Rammasun -- or God of Thunder in Thai -- is sitting about 260 kilometers (160 miles) south east of the Chinese city of Shanghai and appears to be heading towards the Korean peninsula.

While initially the stronger of the two typhoons, this weather system is weakening and is expected to be downgraded to Tropical Storm status by the weekend.

Floods in China have already killed almost 800

But both North and South Korea can expect very heavy rains and strong winds throughout Saturday and Sunday as the weather system moves north east from the Yellow Sea across to the peninsula.

Some flights between South Korea and Shanghai have been cancelled because of the typhoon threat, as well as a flight from Seoul to Guam scheduled for Friday.

A typhoon warning was posted on Wednesday in Zhejiang province in China with residents and authorities in the area and neighboring provinces bracing for more heavy rainfall.

Flooding has killed at least 600 people since May in eastern and southern China, and Rammasun is predicted to add to the full force of the rainy season.

Many rivers and lakes are already perilously close to danger levels with the Yangtze river system most at risk.

State media reported last week that the province of Hunan's Dongting lake, which acts as a buffer to the Yangtze, was only one centimeter below its flood warning level.

With more thunderstorms and rain forecast in the region in the coming days, there are fears of major flooding around the Yangtze this season, similar to the devastating floods of 1998 that left 4,000 people dead.

Chuuk, meanwhile, has made an appeal for international aid in the wake of the typhoon.

Authorities are scrambling to search for survivors after almost 1,500 homes were damaged or destroyed by mudslides and five-foot (1.8 meter) floods.