Typhoon Ragasa Tracker LIVE Updates: Typhoon Ragasa makes landfall in China after 17 killed in Taiwan, 2 million evacuated

According to China's state broadcaster CCTV, the typhoon made landfall along the coast of Hailing Island in Yangjiang city at about 5 pm, packing maximum winds near the centre of 144 kph (89 mph). Violent winds battered trees and buildings, with torrential rain lowering visibility, video from Xinhua showed.

Super Typhoon Ragasa killed at least 14 people in Taiwan and 10 in the northern Philippines, including seven fishermen who drowned after their boat was battered by huge waves and fierce winds, flipping over on Monday off Santa Ana town in northern Cagayan province. Five other fishermen remain missing, provincial officials said.

Nearly 700,000 people were affected by the storm, of whom 25,000 fled to government emergency shelters.

The ‘King of Storms’ displaced nearly 2 million people in China and led to nearly 1.9 million being evacuated in southern Guangdong province. Schools, factories, and transportation services were shut down in about a dozen cities.

In the financial hub of Hong Kong, at least 80 people were injured as the typhoon’s massive winds knocked down hundreds of trees. At least 700 flights were cancelled.

Locally referred to as Nando, the super typhoon in Philippines led to the evacuation of thousands from its northern villages. Schools and offices were closed on Monday in the country and neighbouring Taiwan.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended government work and classes in all levels on Monday in the capital and 29 provinces in the main northern Luzon region.

Electricity too was knocked out on Calayan island and in the entire northern mountain province of Apayao, west of Cagayan, disaster-response officials told AP.

Domestic flights were suspended in northern provinces, while fishing boats and inter-island ferries were prohibited from leaving ports due to very rough seas.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year, has made landfall in China after almost two million people have been evacuated from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. Officials have also issued a red alert for high tides and coastal surges.

Hong Kong resumed flights out of its international airport on Thursday after a 36-hour suspension, reopening businesses, transportation services and some schools after the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year lashed the financial hub.

Ragasa brought the densely populated city to a standstill from Tuesday afternoon, after sweeping through the northern Philippines and Taiwan where it killed 14, before making landfall on the southern Chinese city of Yangjiang on Wednesday.

More than 100 people were injured in Hong Kong, where authorities imposed the highest typhoon signal 10 for most of Wednesday. On Thursday, the observatory maintained its second-lowest typhoon signal 3, keeping kindergartens and some schools shut as Ragasa moved away from the city and weakened into a tropical storm.

Huge waves crashed over areas of Hong Kong's eastern and southern shoreline on Wednesday, with widespread flooding submerging some roads and residential properties.

Seawater surged through the Fullerton hotel on the island's south, shattering glass doors and inundating the lobby. No injuries were reported and the hotel said services were operating as normal.

- Reuters

Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest storms to hit Asia in years, whipped waves taller than lampposts onto Hong Kong promenades and turned seas rough on the southern Chinese coast on Wednesday after leaving deadly destruction in Taiwan and the Philippines.

In Taiwan, 17 people died after floods submerged roads and carried away vehicles in one county, and 10 deaths were reported in the northern Philippines. Nearly 1.9 million people were relocated across Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse.

A weather station in Chuandao town recorded maximum gusts of 241 kph (about 150 mph) at noon, a high in Jiangmen city since record-keeping began. State broadcaster CCTV said the typhoon made landfall along the coast of Hailing Island in Yangjiang city at about 5 pm, packing maximum winds near the center of 144 kph (89 mph).

Violent winds battered trees and buildings, with torrential rain lowering visibility, video from China's state-run Xinhua news agency showed. The typhoon is forecast to keep moving west, prompting the suspension of some train services in the Gunagxi region on Thursday. Chinese officials allocated tens of millions of dollars for relief efforts.

Schools, factories and transportation services were initially suspended in about a dozen cities, but a few of them distant from the landfall location were preparing to resume work as winds weakened.

- AP

Hong Kong’s meteorological agency has lowered its warning level for Typhoon Ragasa as the storm moves further into China, reducing the alert from a level 8 to level 3.

Macau’s meteorological agency is expected to make a similar downgrade between 21:00 and 00:00 local time.

Authorities advise residents to remain indoors while the current warning remains in effect, only venturing out if necessary.

If you’re just joining us, here is what happened till now:

Flights in Hong Kong are set to resume after midnight local time, the airport authority said, BBC reported.

Over the past 48 hours, around 140,000 passengers faced disruptions, according to the South China Morning Post. If conditions are safe, more than 20 flights are expected to arrive between midnight and 06:00 local time on Thursday.

Earlier, Cathay Pacific had anticipated cancelling over 500 flights, while Hong Kong Airlines temporarily halted all departures from the city.

Fierce winds from Typhoon Ragasa woke Hong Kong residents in the early hours, with many taking to social media to report flooding and damage, the Associated Press said.

The storm tore away sections of a pedestrian bridge roof and toppled hundreds of trees across the city. A vessel was pushed into the shore, smashing a row of glass railings along the waterfront. Flooding affected areas around rivers and promenades, including cycling lanes and playgrounds, while outdoor furniture at several waterfront restaurants was scattered by strong gusts.

More than 80 people were treated for injuries at local hospitals.

The death toll in Taiwan has risen to 17 as the Matai’an Creek barrier lake burst its banks following heavy rains from Typhoon Ragasa, BBC reported.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year, has made landfall in southern China. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the typhoon came ashore around 17:00 local time today, bringing maximum winds of 144 km/h (89 mph) near its centre at landfall.

Typhoon Ragasa has taken a turn towards the north on approach to the Guangdong coast, and is set to make to landfall earlier and further north than previously forecast, according to an update by BBC.

At 16:00 local time (08:00 GMT), China's Shenzhen city ended its shutdown, BBC reported.

"Typhoon Ragasa is gradually weakening and moving away from our city," Shenzhen's disaster prevention authority said in a statement.

It added that the city's meteorological station has downgraded its typhoon warning from red - the highest level - to yellow. (BBC)

The Hong Kong Observatory Wednesday late afternoon said that Ragasa has weakened from a super typhoon to a severe typhoon, BBC reported.

Ragasa is departing from Hong Kong gradually, the meteorological service said, however, danger persists with gale to storm force winds affecting many places of the territory.

According to its forecast, frequent squally, or violent, rain showers and thunderstorms, with high swells on the seas will overlap the shoreline.

The newly downgraded severe typhoon is forecast to continue to move west, edging closer to the western coast of Guangdong. (BBC)

Taiwan’s fire department on Wednesday adjusted down to 17 the number of people missing from a flood caused by Super Typhoon Ragasa, from 152 given previously, The Guardian reported.

The department mentioned that one other person had been confirmed dead, bringing the death toll up to 15. (The Guardian)

Super Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest storms in years, battered Hong Kong and southern China on Wednesday after devastating Taiwan and the Philippines.

The storm killed 14 in Taiwan and 10 in the Philippines, forcing the evacuation of 1.9 million in Guangdong province.

Ragasa, with sustained winds of 195 kph, skirted just 100 km south of Hong Kong. Schools, flights, and businesses were shut across Hong Kong and Macao, where flooding forced rescues and power cuts in low-lying areas.

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim from the US shared breathtaking images of the "violent" super typhoon Ragasa from the International Space Station on Tuesday.

Taking over X, Kim shared, "From orbit, the view is breathtaking, but on the ground, this storm brings real danger and hardship. Thoughts are with everyone in its path, and with the first responders and communities preparing to weather it."

Ragasa has weakened over the past hours on Wednesday as it approached land but continues to remain a very strong typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 176km/h (109mph) and 268km/h gusts, BBC reported.

As the Typhoon continues to move westwards, winds will ease further over the next few hours but the storm will still be very powerful with expected gusts of around 175km/h on landfall, the report stated.

The eye of the storm is expected to make landfall at 15:00 GMT today (23:00 local) near the city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong.

The worst impacts from winds and the largest storm surges will occur to the north of the eye, along the Guangdong coastline towards Yangjiang, as per BBC.

Coastal inundation is also possible here as the storm surge reaches 2-3m widely but possibly 4-5m in the worst affected parts. Additionally, 250-450mm of rain is forecast across the region. (BBC)

Sixty-two people have been injured by the super typhoon in Hong Kong, according to public broadcaster RTHK, BBC reported.

Ragasa skirted past the city Wednesday morning and unleashed powerful winds and heavy rainfall, leaving over 400 reports of fallen trees, 15 reports of flooding and one landslide, RTHK reported.

The coastal city of Jiangmen, in Guangdong province, said that it has recorded its strongest storm winds ever at 12:00 local time (04:00 GMT), BBC News reported.

Wind speeds reached 67m/s in Taishan county on Wednesday - exceeding previous recorded of 54.6m/s during Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018.

The city is bracing for more winds and torrential rain from super typhoon Ragasa, which is expected to make landfall in Guangdong province later today.

"Jiangmen has entered the most crucial and tense phase of its typhoon response," the city's government wrote on its official Wechat account. (BBC News)

According to the Taiwan's emergency operation centre, about 100 people continue to remain trapped in various parts of the region and are awaiting rescue, news agency AP reported.

The typhoon's outer circulation continues to lash Taiwan's eastern, northern and southern coastal areas, triggering heavy rainfall in Taiwan. (AP)

In anticipation of severe weather, multiple transportation and infrastructure closures have been implemented across China, news agency AP reported.

The airport in Shenzhen, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge have been closed since Monday.

By Tuesday evening, all buses, taxis, and subway services were suspended, and highway access was restricted, as per the AP report, while Guangzhou cancelled all flights till Wednesday evening.

Zhuhai too cancelled 21 flights on Tuesday.

Shenzhen's shops and other businesses were seen taping their windows, tying down rubbish cans and other outdoor objects to secure them against the fierce winds.

Authorities also trimmed more than 18,000 trees to minimise hazards, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. (AP)

Hong Kong-based Greater Bay Airlines, a small carrier with seven aircraft, said it had parked all its planes away from Hong Kong as a safety precaution, as super typhoon Ragasa is all set to make a landfall in the city late afternoon on Wednesday, news agency Reuters reported.

Its Boeing 737s flew to airports in Japan and China on Tuesday, tracking data showed.

Hong Kong Airlines similarly appeared to have kept all but one of its 28 aircraft out of Hong Kong. (Reuters)

Hong Kong's largest airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, said on Monday the typhoon was going to have "a significant impact" on its operations and it would cancel more than 500 long-haul and regional flights, news agency Reuters reported.

"We are positioning some of our aircraft away from Hong Kong and expect a staggered and gradual resumption to our schedule throughout Thursday into Friday," said the airline, which has a fleet of 179 passenger and freighter planes.

At least 14 Cathay Pacific jets flew from Hong Kong to Cambodia's Phnom Penh Techo airport on Tuesday to wait out the storm, according to Reuters quoting tracking data and Techo airport.

Besides Cathay, its low-cost subsidiary HK Express kept more of their planes in Hong Kong, tracking data showed. (Reuters)

Ahead of the arrival of hurricane-force winds and torrential rain in Hong Kong on Wednesday, about 80 per cent of the aircraft belonging to the four main airlines based in the city had been relocated to or grounded at airports in Japan, China, Cambodia, Europe, Australia and other locations, Flightradar24 tracking data showed, as quoted by Reuters.

Majority of Hong Kong's business jet fleet also moved out of the territory ahead of the storm, the Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre said.

All landings and departures at Hong Kong, the world's busiest cargo airport and the ninth busiest for international passenger traffic, were cancelled for 36 hours starting Tuesday evening, as per the report.

(Reuters)

Hong Kong lowered its typhoon signal to 8 from 10 just after 1 pm (0500 GMT) on Wednesday, keeping the city locked down, news agency Reuters reported.

The hospital authority reported at least 50 people had been injured by the super typhoon Ragasa, while the government had opened 50 temporary shelters, within which 791 sought refuge, Reuters quoted.

In Macao, next to Hong Kong, casinos were forced to shutter their gambling areas. Guests have not been able to leave their property if they were lodged there. (Reuters)

The emergency management ministry in China had dispatched tens of thousands of tents, folding beds, emergency lighting equipment and other rescue supplies to Guangdong on Tuesday, Reuters reported quoting Chinese state media.

Some shops and restaurants in the province parked large rented trucks in front of their storefronts in a bid to shield them from the storm, local media reported, as quoted by news agency Reuters.

China's marine authority Wednesday warned of a high risk of flooding in Shenzhen city, especially in low-lying areas, with a storm surge alert expected to remain in effect until Thursday, according to news agency Reuters.

Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan, the largest cities in the storm's path in southern China, are home to around 50 million people. (Reuters)

China's marine authority Wednesday issued its highest "red" wave warning for the first time this year, forecasting storm surges of up to 2.8 metres (9 feet) in parts of Guangdong province, as Ragasa charges towards the densely populated Pearl River Delta, news agency Reuters reported.

"Authorities have taken lessons from Hato and Mangkhut, which both caused billions of dollars in damage in 2017 and 2018," said Chim Lee, a senior energy and climate change specialist at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

"The Pearl River Delta is one of the best-prepared regions for typhoons, so we're not expecting major disruptions. One change this year is that the Hong Kong stock market has stayed open during typhoons - a sign of how resilient the infrastructure has become," he added. (Reuters)