China has evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and ordered at least 10 cities to close schools and some businesses as the strongest storm of the year bears down on its southern coast.
Hong Kong has upgraded its typhoon warning to level eight—just two levels below the maximum—ahead of the arrival of Super Typhoon Ragasa.
The storm is expected to make landfall in Guangdong province on Wednesday, where about 370,000 people have been evacuated so far, as authorities warn of a potentially catastrophic situation.
Ragasa has been dubbed the King of Storms by China's meteorological agency and is anticipated to move towards northern Vietnam in the coming days, potentially affecting millions more.
In response to the impending storm, supermarket shelves in Hong Kong were stripped of essentials as residents prepared to hunker down. The Hong Kong International Airport also warned of significant disruption to flight operations as the storm nears.
Over 500 Cathay Pacific flights are expected to be canceled, while Hong Kong Airlines announced a halt to all departures from the city. In cities across southern China, shop owners are barricading their stores with sandbags in anticipation of strong winds and tidal surges.
Officials have noted that Ragasa, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, has reached wind gusts of up to 285 km/h (177 mph). UN scientists assert that climate change may be intensifying the severity of such storms.
While Taiwan remains largely unscathed, the storm has already impacted the Philippines, where significant evacuations have occurred, illustrating the broad-reaching effects of Ragasa across Southeast Asia.
