Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful storm so far this year, battered the northern Philippines Monday with destructive winds and torrential rains, triggering mass evacuations and widespread power outages as authorities across Hong Kong, Taiwan, and southern China braced for impact.
The typhoon, known locally as Nando, made landfall over Panuitan Island in Cagayan province with sustained winds exceeding 267 kph (165 mph), equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. The Philippines' meteorological agency issued its highest wind signal, warning of "potentially very destructive" conditions and life-threatening storm surges.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended government work and classes across Metro Manila and 29 northern provinces, while more than 10,000 people were evacuated in northern Luzon. The Department of the Interior and Local Government urged residents to comply with evacuation orders, saying, "Homes and property can be rebuilt, but lives lost can never be replaced."
Power was knocked out across Calayan Island and the mountain province of Apayao, where officials reported at least 1,200 people had moved to emergency shelters. Video from Camiguin and Batanes provinces showed streets inundated and trees whipped by gusts nearing 315 kph (195 mph).
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said Ragasa is expected to skirt south of Taiwan and Hong Kong before making landfall along China's southern coast between Huizhou in Guangdong province and Wenchang in Hainan as early as Wednesday. Shenzhen authorities have announced plans to relocate roughly 400,000 residents from low-lying areas, and Guangdong railway authorities said train service will be gradually suspended beginning Tuesday.
Hong Kong has ordered school closures through Wednesday and is preparing temporary shelters and emergency crews. Cathay Pacific Airways said it will suspend all passenger flights after 6 p.m. Tuesday, with more than 500 cancellations expected, while Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express canceled or delayed dozens more flights.
In Taiwan, land and sea warnings were issued for southern and eastern counties, with ferry services suspended and residents in Hualien County placed on standby for evacuation. Authorities in Fujian and Guangdong provinces also suspended ferry routes and ordered factories and offices to close ahead of the storm's arrival.
Ragasa's rapid intensification came after an eyewall replacement cycle, expanding its wind field and making it more dangerous as it approached densely populated coastlines. Meteorologists warn that climate change is fueling such rapid-strengthening events by warming ocean waters. "Extreme precipitation events have become more frequent," the Hong Kong Observatory said, noting that rainfall records have been broken several times in recent decades.
The Philippines, one of the most storm-exposed nations in the world, has already endured 14 tropical cyclones this year. In 2024, four typhoons struck the archipelago in less than two weeks, underscoring the country's vulnerability to increasingly severe weather systems linked to a warming climate.
