Pohnpei Island is located in the West Pacific, near the Equator; normally, it is very difficult for typhoons to form there.
Because the formation of typhoons includes the Coriolis Force, which causes whirlwinds to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise.
The higher the latitude, the stronger the Coriolis Force, while the Equator has the weakest Coriolis Force.
Under normal circumstances, regions within five degrees of latitude from the Equator do not generate typhoons, and Pohnpei Island is situated near six degrees north latitude. Through recorded history, the number of typhoons encountered is very few; more often, it's tropical cyclones from the Equator that occur, which, though they can also cause torrential rain, are less likely to form a distinct eye of the storm, with less significant changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature, and are much less destructive.