After Philippines, China Braces For Super Typhoon Ragasa. What We Know So Far

HONG KONG: Southern Chinese cities shut schools, closed businesses and cancelled flights on Tuesday as they braced for Super Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest storms in years. The cyclone has already killed three people and displaced thousands in the Philippines.

In low-lying neighborhoods, residents fortified their homes with sandbags and taped up windows against powerful winds. Supermarkets saw a rush of shoppers stockpiling essentials, with vendors reporting brisk sales as panic buying set in.

Ragasa, called Nando in the Philippines, roared ashore on Monday as a super typhoon over Panuitan Island in northern Cagayan province.

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What We Know So Far

Wind Speed: Hong Kong’s observatory reported Ragasa packing sustained winds near its center of 137 mph (220 kph).

Path: The storm is tracking west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph) across the northern South China Sea, heading towards Guangdong province.

Landfall Forecast: China’s National Meteorological Center expects Ragasa to strike between Zhuhai and Zhanjiang in Guangdong from midday to evening Wednesday.

Alerts: Hong Kong is set to hoist storm warning signal No. 8 — the city’s third-highest alert—on Tuesday afternoon. Winds of 84 mph (135 kph) have already been recorded 75 miles from the typhoon’s center.

Storm Surge: Water levels in Hong Kong are expected to rise by about 2 meters Wednesday morning, with some coastal areas potentially facing surges of 4 to 5 meters (13–16 feet).

Hong Kong classifies storms with sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) or higher as super typhoons, a category designed to keep residents alert to the dangers of increasingly intense tropical cyclones.