Deadly Typhoon Ragasa hits southern China, killing 14 and displacing nearly 2 million

2025-09-24 07:54:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Deadly Typhoon Ragasa hits southern China, killing 14 and displacing nearly 2

Nearly two million people have been evacuated from southern Chinese cities as a powerful typhoon slammed into one of the world's most densely populated coastlines, causing deadly flooding in Taiwan, where more than 100 people are missing.

Typhoon Ragasa, which a few days ago was the strongest storm to make landfall so far this year, brought the financial hub of Hong Kong and parts of southern China to a standstill on Wednesday after speeding past remote islands in the Philippines and mountainous regions of Taiwan.

Accompanied by strong hurricane-like winds, it has left behind a series of damages, causing landslides and large waves, and is now heading towards China's Guangdong province, where giant cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou are located.

In Taiwan, at least 14 people died and rescue teams are trying to find 129 others who are still missing after a natural dam holding back a recently formed lake collapsed, releasing 68 million tons of water and flooding the nearby town of Guangfu.

Before the typhoon hit, authorities said they had issued several warnings and evacuation advisories for residents who could be affected if the lake filled with water.

But their October forecast did not take into account heavy rainfall, and any strong typhoon could have accelerated this process, said Kuo-Lung Wang, a professor at Taiwan's National Chi Nan University.

A large bridge in Hualien was also flooded by the floodwaters after the natural dam collapsed.

The Philippines, Taiwan and southern China experience many typhoons each year, but the man-made climate crisis has made the storms more unpredictable and extreme.

As the storm approached Hong Kong's international financial hub on Wednesday morning, it brought strong winds that toppled trees and ripped scaffolding from buildings, reaching maximum speeds of 168 kilometers per hour (104.39 mph).

The winds have prompted Hong Kong and Macau, together home to more than 8 million people, to issue their highest typhoon warning, with schools, businesses and public transport largely closed, including the city's airport, one of the busiest in Asia. Storm surges could reach up to four metres in some areas on Wednesday, the Hong Kong Observatory warned./ CNA, translated by CNN