Super Typhoon Melor brushed Saipan to the north back in early October 2009.  I was 65 miles south on the famous Banzai Cliff to capture the action.  The cliff is about 100 feet high and you can really get a sense of the power of the water as several waves came up and got me wet.  Then there was the mega wave that covered up 3 students on the observation deck.  It's in the video and there are a couple of frame grabs below. 

Saipan is part of the Marianas near Tinian, Rota, and Guam.  I grew up on Guam and had been to Saipan before in 1974.  A lot had changed but some areas were the same.  I have to say Saipan was my favorite place in the world to film a cyclone.  Like the old days when it was just you and the elements.  I can't wait to go back there again.  A lot of Japanese tourist visit Saipan.  There are a number of memorials at Banzai Cliffs reminding one of the terrible loss of life in World War II.  I took shelter near these memorials to get out of the rain and shoot this footage.  My friend Jim Leonard was here in the early 90s.  When a big typhoon hits Saipan you absolutely cannot be here or the waves will wash you over the cliff.