Super typhoon Soudelor has devastated Saipan and is expected to hit the Chinese and Taiwanese coast and several Japanese islands. 

Experts say the storm that was once classified super typhoon may lose steam as it approaches these countries.

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Eric Leister from Accuweather said Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands in Japan may be hit by Soudelor on Thursday evening or early Friday morning. Residents living in the eastern part of China may expect the storm to arrive on the evening of August 7 or morning of August 8 and will continue to unleash its rains until Monday or Tuesday next week.

Typhoon Soudelor is quite small, its eye measuring only four miles across with maximum winds of 100 mph when it hit Saipan. After inflicting massive damage on the islands, Soudelor became a super typhoon in a matter of hours.

By late afternoon on August 3, Soudelor was already packing winds reaching up to 178 mph, making it one of the most powerful typhoons this year. Weather experts believe that when Soudelor hits Taiwan, its winds would have weakened considerably.

Still, the typhoon has enough strength to drop around 20-inch rains that could cause landslides and flooding in Taiwan and other areas in the region.

Meanwhile, Saipan has been declared to be in a "state of disaster" by the island Governor Ralph Torres. Most residents have no access to power and communications following the storm. The lone power plant as well as electric and telephone poles have been heavily damaged by the storm. Restoration of power and communication may reportedly take several months as some roads have to be cleared of debris. Access to potable water has also been severely affected by the typhoon. More than 300 people lost their homes and are now staying in temporary shelters.

Fortunately, no one was killed when Soudelor wreaked havoc on the islands. Government officials stated that around 10 residents sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Saipan is inhabited by approximately 50,000 people and the island is part of the United States commonwealth.

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