Ragasa Typhoon threatens Hong Kong after battering the Philippines, with winds up to 137 mph

Super typhoon Ragasa is on a path from the Philippines toward Hong Kong, with maximum sustained winds reported at 137 mph at its center as it churns across the South China Sea. Officials warned Ragasa could pose a serious threat to Hong Kong, with potential damage comparable to some of the city’s most destructive storms in recent history. Hong Kong’s weather service said Ragasa had already lashed parts of the Philippines and was moving west toward the Pearl River Delta region.

Ragasa was generating winds with maximum sustained speeds of 137mph at its centre as it churned across the South China Sea, having earlier lashed parts of the Philippines, according to Hong Kong's weather service.

Hong Kong officials prepared for a broad disruption across transport, business and daily life. The city’s airport authority said operations would face significant disruption from 6:00 p.m. Tuesday until the next day, while more than 500 Cathay Pacific flights were expected to be canceled. The Hong Kong Observatory prepared to issue its third-highest typhoon warning level, T8, at about 2:20 p.m. local time, when most businesses suspend operations and transport systems largely shut down. The Hong Kong Jockey Club canceled Wednesday’s horse-racing meet, and authorities urged residents in low-lying areas to monitor flood risks as 46 temporary shelters were opened.

In Shenzhen, across the border in mainland China, authorities ordered the evacuation of about 400,000 people as the city prepared for Ragasa’s impact. Guangzhou’s rail authority announced suspensions of all train services on Wednesday, reflecting the regional scale of the precautions. Macau and other nearby areas were also closely monitoring the storm’s progress.

The scale of preparations reflected the authorities’ aim to blunt potential damage. Hong Kong’s stock exchange said it would keep markets open if possible, adjusting operations to weather conditions, and regulators warned that disruptions could extend beyond transportation to commerce and services. Residents stocked up on essentials as stores reported shortages, with some shelves emptied of bread, vegetables and meat in parts of the city and neighboring Shenzhen.

"There’s bound to be some concern," said Zhu Yifan, a 22-year-old student shopping in Shenzhen, while another shopper, Zoe Chan, described securing belongings with sandbags and preparing for possible water damage to a shop in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district.

Schools announced closures for Tuesday and Wednesday, and many offices and services followed suit as the broader region braced for Ragasa’s full effects. In Hong Kong, the government urged residents to heed official guidance and to be prepared for possible evacuations and power outages.

The timing is critical: Ragasa was expected to be closest to Hong Kong and Macau on Wednesday morning, according to Chinese weather services, prompting regional authorities to escalate response plans in the run-up to potential landfall or near-miss scenarios.

In Manila and the wider Philippines, authorities had already begun evacuations and school closures in anticipation of impact. Officials reported that more than 10,000 people had been moved to safer locations as a precautionary measure, and public offices were temporarily closed in several provinces. Scientists have warned that storms are growing more powerful as the climate warms, highlighting the increasing risks for coastal and densely populated cities in the region.

Ragasa’s trajectory underscores a broader trend in which tropical cyclones intensify rapidly in warming seas. While exact impacts vary by location, the combination of high winds, heavy rainfall and storm surge can produce widespread damage and prolonged disruptions to essential services.

As the region tracks Ragasa, authorities emphasized adherence to weather alerts and avoidance of unnecessary travel. Forecasters will continue to monitor Ragasa’s track and intensity, with updates expected as the storm approaches Hong Kong and neighboring areas. The incident adds to a growing catalog of climate-related weather events that are shaping policy and emergency planning for Asia’s most densely populated cities.