Typhoon Ragasa Devastates Taiwan, Evacuates Guangdong

Super Typhoon Ragasa, described as this year’s most powerful storm, has battered the northern Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and southern China with sustained winds of roughly 195–220 km/h, torrential rain and large storm surges. In eastern Taiwan a barrier lake in Hualien burst, washing away a bridge and flooding Guangfu township; authorities reported at least 14 confirmed dead, hundreds stranded and as many as 124 people missing, and more than 7,600 people were evacuated. The Philippines also reported fatalities and displacement after Ragasa swept through earlier. Chinese authorities ordered closures across multiple cities, put Guangdong on its highest windstorm emergency, evacuated hundreds of thousands (including about 400,000 in Shenzhen), opened emergency shelters and prepositioned relief supplies. Air travel and transport were widely disrupted, with hundreds of flights canceled across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and officials warned of storm surges of roughly 2–5 metres, heavy flooding and landslides.