Super Typhoon Ragasa Slams Northern Philippines, Heads West

Super Typhoon Ragasa (locally Nando) made landfall on Calayan in Cagayan province in the northern Philippines with sustained winds around 215 kph and extreme gusts, forcing thousands to evacuate, cutting power on islands and prompting cancellations of flights, ferries, schools and government work. Philippine authorities warned of life‑threatening storm surges exceeding 3 meters in low‑lying northern provinces, activated national disaster agencies, and President Marcos suspended work and classes in many regions. Ragasa is moving west‑northwest into the South China Sea toward Taiwan, Hong Kong and southern China; Taiwan issued torrential and extremely torrential rain advisories and suspended key rail services. Hong Kong prepared for a strong typhoon signal (T8), suspended schools and non‑emergency public hospital services and deployed extra drainage and flood‑response teams, while mainland China issued red alerts for storm surge and very high waves (forecast 4–13 m), ordered suspensions of work and transport and planned large evacuations including roughly 400,000 people in Shenzhen. Forecasters expect Ragasa to gradually weaken over the next 24–48 hours but to remain dangerous as it crosses the South China Sea and approaches the Chinese mainland, with widespread travel and infrastructure disruptions likely.