Hong Kong braces for world’s most powerful typhoon this year

Typhoon Ragasa is churning towards Hong Kong, generating winds of up to 220kmh.

It is the world’s most powerful tropical typhoon this year, with officials warning that it would be among the most destructive storms in the city’s recent history.

Hong Kong closed schools and cancelled flights on Tuesday (Sep 23), while authorities in mainland China have ordered businesses and schools to shut in at least 10 cities. 
Heavy rain in Taiwan

Although Ragasa will not directly hit Taiwan, its outer bands are expected to bring heavy rain to the island’s sparsely populated east coast. 

A sea warning is effective in the Taiwan Strait, but a land warning was lifted at 8.30am.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said rain will continue into the night across the island.
Quiet streets

It’s quiet on this market street in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island.

Usually, this area would be bustling with crowds shopping at the various stalls. But many vendors decided to stay closed due to warnings about Super Typhoon Ragasa.

Some were seen securing the zinc sheets and reinforcing protection for their street stalls.

Those who remain open say they’ll close earlier than usual as the authorities intend to raise the storm alert to category 8 at 2.20pm local time.  The highest signal is 10.

I spoke to a number of tourists who said they were caught off guard by the typhoon, and this will clearly affect their travel plans. Some asked if they could still leave Hong Kong for Guangdong by high-speed rail if they hurried.

Many transportation modes, including flights in and out of Hong Kong, will slowly wind down as the typhoon approaches and intensifies towards the later part of today into tomorrow.

Groceries fly off the shelves

Hong Kong resident Michelle Tam told CNA she started buying groceries in preparation for the typhoon a week ago.

Her home faces the sea, and she said she is worried as winds have been strong for three days now. 

Long queues were seen at markets and grocery stores as people stocked up on necessities. 

Milk and meat sold out and vegetable prices at fresh-produce markets tripled, witnesses said. Empty shelves could also be seen at a supermarket. 

“There’s bound to be some concern,” said supermarket shopper Zhu Yifan, a 22-year-old student from China.

Path of Typhoon Ragasa

The super typhoon is expected to move west-northwest across the northern parf ot the South China Sea and edge close to the coast of Guangdong province.

The Hong Kong Observatory has already hoisted a strong wind signal. 

It will assess the need to upgrade the signal tonight or tomorrow morning.
3 dead in the Philippines

Typhoon Ragasa lashed the northern Philippines yesterday, killing at least three people. 

The fatalities included a 74-year-old man, who died while being taken 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 in the mountain town of Tuba in Benguet province.

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 yesterday.

Thousands sought shelter in schools and evacuation centres.

We’re tracking Super Typhoon Ragasa, which is churning across the South China Sea towards Hong Kong. 

In a city that’s no stranger to tropical storms, residents are hunkering down amid warnings that the threat of this typhoon could rival Mangkhut in 2018.

The Hong Kong Observatory says it will issue its third-highest typhoon warning, T8, at 2.20pm local time, which will prompt businesses and transport services to shut down. 

Already, hundreds of flights have been cancelled, including those from Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

Source: CNA 

-Agencies