Southern Chinese cities ground to a halt on Tuesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest storms in years, approached the region after leaving three people dead and thousands displaced in the Philippines.
Schools, businesses, and factories were shut down, flights canceled, and transport suspended as residents braced for impact. In Guangdong province, more than 370,000 people were relocated, according to state media.
Along the Chobe River promenade in Hong Kong, curious onlookers gathered to watch waves up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) high crash over pedestrian walkways before conditions deteriorated further.
Authorities rescued three people — including a child — from the sea, while police patrolled coastlines to keep the public away from dangerous waters.
The Hong Kong Observatory reported Ragasa was packing sustained winds near its center of 195 kph (120 mph) as it tracked west-northwest across the northern South China Sea at about 22 kph.
The storm is expected to make landfall between Taishan and Zhanjiang in Guangdong between Wednesday midday and evening, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Hong Kong on High Alert
The observatory issued Storm Warning Signal No. 8, one of the city’s highest alerts, as officials forecast coastal water levels to surge by 2 meters on Wednesday morning, with some areas possibly reaching 4 to 5 meters above normal sea levels.
Authorities warned the impact could rival that of Typhoon Hato (2017) and Typhoon Mangkhut (2018), which caused billions in damages and widespread devastation.
Schools were shut across Hong Kong and Macao, while hundreds of residents in Hong Kong sought shelter at temporary facilities. Hospitals treated at least three storm-related injuries.
Air travel was severely disrupted: hundreds of flights were canceled in Hong Kong, while Shenzhen Airport suspended all flights from Tuesday night.
In Macao, the government evacuated residents and tourists, closing bridges as part of emergency precautions.
Other major cities in Guangdong, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Foshan, as well as Haikou in Hainan province, also suspended classes and began scaling back business, production, and transportation services.
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