Super Typhoon Ragasa Forces Evacuations, Cancels Flights

Super Typhoon Ragasa, with sustained winds around 220 km/h (about 137 mph) — equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane — is closing on southern China and Hong Kong and is expected to make landfall along Guangdong’s coast from midday to late Wednesday. Authorities across Hong Kong and southern China have ordered shutdowns of schools, businesses and transport and carried out large-scale evacuations, with official reports of relocations ranging from about 370,000 to more than 770,000 and expectations that over a million people may be moved. Shenzhen issued a "wartime readiness" alert as residents boarded or taped windows, filled sandbags and stockpiled supplies, while forecasters warned of hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and storm surges potentially metres high comparable to past destructive typhoons. The storm has already caused deaths and damage in the northern Philippines. Travel has been severely disrupted: more than 700 flights have been canceled or delayed, Hong Kong International Airport suspended passenger services for about 36 hours from Tuesday evening, and carriers are offering rebooking, refunds or waivers as travelers remain stranded.