Authorities in southern China ordered the evacuation of more than a million people as Super Typhoon Ragasa swept towards coastal Guangdong after leaving a trail of destruction in the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
At least 17 people were killed in Taiwan’s eastern Hualien county, and 17 were still missing, after a lake inundated with days of rain from the massive storm burst its banks and flooded nearby Guangfu township. Videos showed torrents of water sweeping cars away and houses buried in mud, leaving many residents trapped.
In Hong Kong, a nearly three metre storm surge caused massive waves to crash into many coastal areas, flooding homes and businesses and even smashing through a pair of large glass doors at the Fullerton Hotel in Aberdeen, knocking workers off their feet and filling the lobby with sea water and debris.
Super Typhoon Ragasa, the year’s most powerful tropical cyclone, is wreaking havoc in parts of Asia.
Reuters
Ahead of the typhoon’s approach, the Hong Kong Observatory warned Ragasa, the strongest storm on earth this year so far, could have a “considerably larger” impact on the territory than 2018’s Super Typhoon Mangkhut. That storm left hundreds injured, tens of thousands without power, and uprooted more than 60,000 trees, causing millions of dollars of damages.
By comparison however, Hong Kong appeared to be relatively unscathed Wednesday, after hours of being buffeted by hurricane-force winds and torrential rain.
Less than 100 people sought emergency treatment for injuries caused by the typhoon, while around 700 trees were uprooted. A family of three remain in critical condition after they were swept into the sea while storm-watching on Tuesday evening.
More than 1,000 flights were cancelled at Hong Kong International Airport, which is not expected to resume normal operations until Thursday morning. The Airport Authority said around 140,000 passengers had their travel plans disrupted by the storm.
Pedestrians walk through a flooded street in Macao, on Wednesday.EDUARDO LEAL/AFP/Getty Images
While Ragasa has weakened somewhat as it progresses through the South China Sea, it still remains a serious force, and the authorities in Guangdong have taken no chances, ordering hundreds of thousands to evacuate.
Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan, the largest cities in the storm’s path, are home to around 50 million people.
The emergency management ministry dispatched tens of thousands of tents, folding beds, emergency lighting equipment and other rescue supplies to Guangdong on Tuesday, Chinese state media reported, while over 770,000 people have been evacuated.
China’s marine authority warned of a high risk of flooding in Shenzhen, especially in low-lying areas, with a storm surge alert expected to remain in effect until Thursday.
With reports from Reuters
Global warming is increasing the frequency of tropical storms and typhoons in Asia, according to an extreme weather expert on Wednesday.
Reuters