What happened?
Super Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest storms to strike Asia in recent years, battered Hong Kong on Wednesday after cutting a deadly path through Taiwan and the Philippines. With maximum sustained winds of 195 kph (120 mph) near its center, Ragasa forced the city to issue its highest No. 10 hurricane warning for nearly 11 hours. The storm brought hurricane-force winds, torrential rain, and a powerful storm surge that left streets flooded, trees uprooted, and buildings damaged.
Impact on Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, violent gusts tore down hundreds of trees, ripped parts of a pedestrian bridge’s roof, and scattered furniture along waterfront restaurants. Viral videos showed waves crashing into hotels and flooding interiors. A vessel smashed into the shore, shattering glass railings, while playgrounds and cycling lanes disappeared under floodwaters.
Hospitals treated 90 people for storm-related injuries. Nearly 1,000 flights were disrupted at the airport, affecting 140,000 passengers. Schools, businesses, and transport services ground to a halt, with classes suspended for almost three days.
How bad was it in the region?
Ragasa first struck Taiwan, where floods in Hualien County killed 17 people after a barrier lake overflowed, sweeping away vehicles and bridges. More than 8,000 residents in Guangfu Township were forced to higher ground as muddy torrents turned streets into raging rivers. In the Philippines, at least 10 people died, including seven fishermen who drowned when their boat capsized in fierce seas. Five others remain missing.
Across southern China, more than two million people were relocated in Guangdong province. At landfall in Yangjiang, winds peaked at 241 kph (150 mph)—a record for the city since data collection began.
Current situation
By Thursday morning, Ragasa had weakened to a tropical storm and moved further west. Hong Kong lowered its warning signal to No. 1, though forecasters cautioned that squally showers and thunderstorms would persist. Afternoon kindergarten classes resumed, while morning sessions remained suspended. Chinese officials have already pledged tens of millions of dollars toward disaster relief as recovery efforts begin.
Why it matters
The Hong Kong Observatory confirmed Ragasa was the strongest tropical cyclone in the northwestern Pacific and South China Sea this year, ranking as the second-strongest since records began in 1950. The destruction underscores how increasingly powerful storms are testing Asia’s coastal defenses and resilience.
