Ragasa, being referred to as the strongest storm of the year, became a super typhoon on Monday when it made landfall on Panuitan Island, in Cagayan province, with wind gusts of more than 267 kph (165 mph). The typhoon caused destruction so strong that roofs were ripped off houses, roads were blocked, and many communities were cut off.
Images captured from space showed the breadth of the typhoon, which stretched over a large portion of the western Pacific.
Although it has weakened slightly and no longer holds the designation of super typhoon, Ragasa remains an extreme storm nonetheless at sustained winds of 230 kph (145 mph), a Category 4 hurricane. Now, Ragasa is projected to pass south of Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, before making another landfall in Guangdong Province.
Southern China Prepares
Emergency measures have been activated in southern China in anticipation of the typhoon. Cities in Guangdong province, and one of the most densely populated provinces in the world, are closing schools, shutting down workers, and halting public transport, in preparation for damages. In Guangzhou, a city with a population of nearly 18.6 million people, officials raised the possibility of issuing the highest red alert level.
Nearby Shenzhen has begun moving 400,000 people from low-lying and vulnerable communities, where nearly 17.5 million people reside. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Observatory warned of “phenomenal” swells and a storm surge of 4 meters on Wednesday.
All across Hong Kong, Zhuhai, and Shenzhen, residents rushed to supermarkets to buy provisions, leaving shelves bare. In preparation for the storm, hundreds of flights were canceled in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and all of southern China.
Cathay Pacific suspended operations from Tuesday night to Thursday morning, while Hong Kong Airlines canceled dozens of flights. The massive bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai will also be closed.
Impacts in the Philippines
The storm has generated a monumental toll in the Philippines. Landslides, flooding, and damaging winds have produced extensive surface and structural damage over northern Luzon. The Babuyan Islands experienced extreme conditions as homes were washed away, small boats swept ashore, and trees knocked down by the intensity of the wind.
On Calayan Island, images showed homes destroyed, totaling a whole neighborhood and extensive surface damage, while crews continue searching waters off northeastern Luzon for six fishermen who disappeared after their ship was overturned by a some 10-foot wave. Six other members of the crew were saved from the same ship.
In Benguet province, one person died in a landslide that injured others. Gold Coast teams rescued stranded families in Ilocos Norte from flooded homes, while excavators helped clear roads blocked with mud and debris.
Officials noted that more than 24,000 people were evacuated across northern and central Luzon prior to landfall. Video from Camiguin Island and Batanes province showed winds whipping and flooding residential streets with ocean water, underscoring the ferocity of the typhoon.
Path Ahead
Warnings of heavy rain remain in place for much of northern Luzon, because the outer bands of Ragasa will continue to be felt in the region and bring with them additional floods and landslides. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Ragasa to continue weakening as it heads toward southern China, likely to the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane with winds in the vicinity of 185 kph.
Ragasa is expected to come ashore in western Guangdong Province on Wednesday evening and will most likely cause flooding, power loss, and damage to coastal areas.
In the ten miles where Ragasa is coming ashore, there are tens of millions of residents in Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. In the following days, we will begin to see the scope of Ragasa's impact across mainland China.
