HONG KONG: Fierce winds, pounding rain and high seas battered Hong Kong on Wednesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa headed into southern China after causing a lake burst that killed at least 14 people in Taiwan.&nbsp;The Chinese finance hub saw scores of fallen trees and flooding in multiple neighborhoods, with the storm surge smashing the glass doors of an upscale hotel and flooding its lobby, according to footage circulated online.&nbsp;Ragasa is churning away from Hong Kong gradually around noon (0400 GMT), but the city will still be lashed by hurricane-force winds, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, which issued the highest level of typhoon warning overnight.&nbsp;Ragasa has brought &quot;significant storm surge&quot;, with waters in coastal areas rising more than three meters above the reference level, the observatory added.&nbsp;The nearby casino hub of Macau -- which also saw widespread flooding -- has suspended power supply to some low-lying areas, according to utility company CEM.&nbsp;In Taiwan, at least 14 people were killed and 18 injured when a decades-old lake barrier burst in the eastern Hualien County after Ragasa pounded the island, according to regional officials.&nbsp;The super typhoon killed at least two people while ripping through the northern Philippines.&nbsp;China&#39;s Ministry of Emergency Management said the typhoon is expected to make landfall along Guangdong&#39;s coast between Zhuhai and Zhanjiang from midday to late Wednesday.&nbsp;Authorities across mainland China ordered businesses and schools to shut down in at least 10 cities across the nation&#39;s south, affecting tens of millions of people.&nbsp;Streets were mostly empty as the wind picked up on Wednesday morning in Yangjiang, a city west of Hong Kong near where the typhoon is expected to make landfall.&nbsp;One local shopkeeper told AFP she was not sure if she would be able to open her convenience store today. &quot;It will depend on the weather conditions,&quot; she said.&nbsp;The Yangjiang train station -- normally bustling with activity, locals said -- stood empty, with rail travel suspended Wednesday across the province of Guangdong.&nbsp;Reports of floodingMultiple districts in Hong Kong saw instances of flooding, according to images circulated on social media and verified by AFP.&nbsp;At the Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel, next to a theme park, a man was seen losing his balance after storm surge shattered the glass front doors and swept into its lobby, one of the videos showed.&nbsp;&quot;We are doing all we can to mitigate the impact brought about by the super typhoon,&quot; a spokesperson for the hotel told AFP.&nbsp;Floodwaters rushed into the seaside Heng Fa Chuen residential estate and covered its interior courtyards, another video clip showed.&nbsp;Strong winds ripped off the top of a pedestrian footbridge, while many of the city&#39;s tall buildings swayed and rattled in the harsh winds.&nbsp;An off-duty firefighter surnamed Tse told AFP he was &quot;a bit worried&quot; about the safety of nearby bamboo scaffoldings as he walked home after an 11-hour shift of &quot;non-stop&quot; work.&nbsp;&quot;This one was forecast to be quite bad, so we were expecting a bit of chaos... (but) everywhere seems to be functioning quite efficiently still,&quot; said 27-year-old chef Benjamin Phizacklea.&nbsp;Rail operator MTR said train services on open sections were suspended, with limited service available on the underground sections.&nbsp;Authorities said more than 760 people sought refuge at the 50 temporary shelters across Hong Kong.&nbsp;The city&#39;s airport operator said &quot;only a limited number of cargo flights&quot; were scheduled for Wednesday, with its website listing hundreds of cancelled passenger flights.&nbsp;A five-year-old boy and his mother fell into the sea on Tuesday afternoon while they were watching the waves in the Chai Wan district, according to police. Both were in critical condition after they were rushed to the hospital.&nbsp;The boy&#39;s 40-year-old father, who reportedly jumped into the water to save his family, was also hospitalized.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, typhoon Ragasa hong kong

Asia

The super typhoon kills at least two people while ripping through the northern Philippines.

14 killed, 124 missing as Typhoon Ragasa wreaks havoc in Taiwan

HONG KONG: Southern Chinese cities scaled back many aspects of daily life on Tuesday with school and business closures and flight cancellations as the region braced for one of the strongest typhoons in years, which has already killed three people and led to the displacement of thousands of others in the Philippines.&nbsp;Hong Kong&#39;s observatory said Super Typhoon Ragasa, which was packing maximum sustained winds near the center of about 143 mph (230 kph), is expected to move west-northwest at about 14 mph (22 kph) across the northern part of the South China Sea and edge closer to the coast of Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse.&nbsp;China&rsquo;s National Meteorological Center forecast the typhoon would make landfall in the coastal area between Shenzhen city and Xuwen county in Guangdong province on Wednesday.&nbsp;Already hoisting a strong wind signal, the observatory in Hong Kong will issue storm warning signal No. 8, the third highest in the city&rsquo;s weather alert system, on Tuesday afternoon and will assess the necessity of upgrading the signal on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.&nbsp;The city categorizes tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds near the center of 185 kph (115 mph) or above as super typhoons to make residents extra vigilant about the approach of more intense storms.&nbsp;The water level is forecast to rise about 2 meters (6.5 feet) over coastal areas in the Asian financial hub on Wednesday morning, and the maximum water level in some areas could hit 4 to 5 meters (13.1 to 16.4 feet) above the typical lowest sea level.&nbsp;The government said the water levels could be similar to those recorded during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 &mdash; estimated to have caused the city direct economic losses worth over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($154 million) and 4.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $590 million), respectively.&nbsp;Residents living in flood-prone areas have already put sandbags and barriers at their doors, while others have put tape on windows and glass doors to brace for strong winds. Many people stockpiled food and daily supplies on Monday, as some market vendors reported that their goods were selling out fast.&nbsp;Hong Kong, Macao braces for impact Schools were closed in Hong Kong and the neighboring city of Macao. Other cities, such as the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen and Foshan in Guangdong province and Haikou in Hainan province, ordered class cancellations and a gradual suspension of other businesses and transportation.&nbsp;Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Hong Kong. Shenzhen Airport will halt all flights from Tuesday night. The Macao government activated its emergency response mechanism as it expected Ragasa would pass within 62 miles (100 kilometers) to the south of the casino hub on Wednesday morning.&nbsp;At least six people were injured, and over 7,000 people were evacuated in Taiwan when the typhoon swept south of the island. Additionally, over 8,000 households were impacted by a power outage, according to the Central News Agency. Three people killed in the Philippines&nbsp;In the Philippines, Ragasa left at least three people dead, and five others missing and displaced more than 17,500 people in flooding and landslides set off by the most powerful storm to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago this year, the country&rsquo;s disaster-response agency and provincial officials said.&nbsp;The dead included a 74-year-old man, who died while being brought to a hospital after being pinned in one of four vehicles that were partly buried by mud, rocks and trees that cascaded down a mountainside onto a narrow road on Monday in the mountain town of Tuba in Benguet province, officials said.&nbsp;Two other villagers died in the storm, including a resident in Calayan town, a cluster of islands off northern Cagayan province where the super typhoon made landfall on Monday, officials said without providing details.&nbsp;Ragasa, Tagalog for scramble, prompted the Philippine government on Monday to close schools and government offices in the densely populated capital region and 29 northern provinces. Fishing boats and ferries were prohibited from venturing into very rough seas, and domestic flights were cancelled.

Typhoon Ragasa, Super Typhoon Ragasa, Asia typhoon

Authorities say the 'super typhoon' has already killed three people and led to the displacement of thousands of others in the Philippines.

China cancels schools, flights as it braces for Typhoon Ragasa

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Hong Kong International Airport is set to suspend all passenger flights for 36 hours as the region braces for Super Typhoon Ragasa, a powerful storm that has already forced the evacuation of over 10,000 people in the Philippines and is rapidly gaining strength as it approaches southern China.&nbsp;According to Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, Hong Kong&rsquo;s airport will halt all passenger flights from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Thursday local time. The Airport Authority Hong Kong confirmed ongoing monitoring of the storm and said preparations were underway to manage the potential impact.&nbsp;The Hong Kong Observatory is expected to issue its first precautionary storm signal around noon, with an official announcement anticipated later on Monday. The Civil Aviation Department has not yet commented. 500 flights cancelled Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific said it expected to cancel more than 500 flights as Super Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit the Chinese financial hub. &quot;Starting at 6 p.m. tomorrow, September 23, Cathay Pacific&#39;s passenger flights arriving at and departing from Hong Kong International Airport will cease operations until resuming during daytime hours on Thursday,&quot; a spokeswoman for the airline said at a Monday press conference.&nbsp;Philippines braces for landfallMeanwhile, in the Philippines, Ragasa began lashing the country&rsquo;s far north with gale-force winds and heavy rain early Monday, forcing mass evacuations and the closure of schools and government offices across Metro Manila and 29 provinces.&nbsp;More than 10,000 people have taken shelter in schools and evacuation centres, as the typhoon tracks westward toward the Babuyan Islands, where it is expected to make landfall by midday.&nbsp;As of 11:00 a.m. (0300 GMT), Ragasa was packing maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers (133.6 miles) per hour, with gusts up to 265 kph (164.6 mph), according to the national weather service. The sparsely populated Babuyans lie roughly 740 kilometers (460 miles) south of Taiwan, where evacuations are also underway in mountainous areas prone to landslides.&nbsp;&ldquo;I woke up because of the strong wind. It was hitting the windows, and it sounded like a machine that was switched on,&rdquo; said Tirso Tugagao, a resident of Aparri in Cagayan province. &ldquo;High waves are crashing onto the shore. I pray everyone will be safe.&rdquo;&nbsp;Cagayan disaster chief Rueli Rapsing told AFP his team was &ldquo;prepared for the worst.&rdquo; President Ferdinand Marcos said he was closely monitoring the situation and had placed all government agencies on alert to assist where needed.&nbsp;Taiwan, Hong Kong brace for storm&#39;s reachIn Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration warned of &ldquo;extremely torrential rain&rdquo; in the island&rsquo;s east. The storm has a massive radius of 320 kilometers (199 miles), meaning its outer bands are already affecting parts of the country despite the typhoon&rsquo;s center still being some distance away.&nbsp;James Wu, a local fire officer in Pingtung, said evacuations were in progress in vulnerable areas. &ldquo;What worries us more is that the damage could be similar to Typhoon Koinu two years ago,&rdquo; he added, referencing a storm that brought down utility poles and ripped off rooftops.&nbsp;In Hong Kong, preparations are being made for potential weather disruptions. While the city has dealt with powerful storms in the past, Super Typhoon Ragasa&rsquo;s trajectory and wind field have prompted the rare preemptive suspension of air traffic &mdash; a measure expected to affect thousands of travelers.&nbsp;A region under storm siegeIn the Philippines, weather specialist John Grender Almario warned of &ldquo;severe flooding and landslides&rdquo; in northern Luzon. The threat comes just days after public protests over alleged corruption in flood control projects.&nbsp;The Philippines, located along the Pacific cyclone belt, experiences around 20 typhoons each year. Experts warn that such storms are becoming increasingly intense due to human-driven climate change. With input from wires.

Hong Kong Airport suspends all passenger flights for 36 hours. The storm lashes northern Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines brace for impact, while officials warn of flooding, landslides, and severe disruptions.

Articles tagged with "Super Typhoon Ragasa"

14 killed, 124 missing as Typhoon Ragasa wreaks havoc in Taiwan

China cancels schools, flights as it braces for Typhoon Ragasa

Super Typhoon Ragasa disrupts travel and triggers evacuations across Asia

Super Typhoon Ragasa disrupts travel and triggers evacuations across Asia