Hong Kong came to a standstill on Tuesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s strongest tropical cyclone this year, closed in on the city. Authorities urged residents to remain indoors while most passenger flights were suspended until Thursday.
Panic buying set in as supermarkets were stripped bare, with residents stockpiling food and essentials amid fears shops could be shut for days. Windows in homes and businesses were taped up in an effort to minimise damage from shattered glass.
The Hong Kong Observatory said Ragasa, with winds of up to 220km/h (137mph), poses a “severe threat to the coast of Guangdong,” the Chinese province bordering the city. The storm is expected to make landfall along Guangdong’s coast between midday and late Wednesday after battering the northern Philippines.
Authorities in Guangdong evacuated more than 370,000 people, according to state news agency Xinhua. In Hong Kong, Typhoon Signal 8, the city’s third-highest storm warning, was issued at 2:20 p.m. local time, forcing most businesses and transport services to close. More than 700 flights were disrupted across Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
The observatory warned of hurricane-force winds, flash floods, and dangerous sea surges comparable to those seen during Typhoons Hato (2017) and Mangkhut (2018), which caused billions in damage. Coastal waters in Hong Kong are expected to rise by about two metres, with maximum surges of up to five metres in some areas.
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