Hong Kong, Guangdong Cities Shut Ahead of Typhoon Ragasa

Millions of people in Hong Kong and 11 cities along the Guangdong coast were battening down the hatches on Tuesday evening as Super Typhoon Ragasa – the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year – moved toward them.

Authorities were urging people to stay at home, while officials at Hong Kong Airport announced a 36-hour shutdown from 8pm local time (Sept 23) till 8am on Thursday. More than 700 flights were cancelled in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

People piled into supermarkets, leaving little on the shelves, as panic buying set in and residents stocked up on necessities for fear that shops could be closed for two days.

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Windows in homes and businesses across the city were taped up, with residents hoping it could help reduce the impact of any shattered glass.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued a No-8 warning at 2.20pm, saying Ragasa was expected to bring hurricane-force winds with speeds of up to 220 kilometres an hour (137 mph) and thunderstorms.

It posed a “severe threat to the coast of Guangdong”, the city forecaster said, referring to the Chinese province that neighbours the financial hub.

Ragasa would retain ‘super typhoon’ intensity as it edges closer to the coast and impacts Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan, after sweeping through the northern Philippines on Monday.

It was expected to make landfall along Guangdong’s coast from midday to late Wednesday.

Guangdong evacuating over 1 million

Authorities in Guangdong evacuated over 770,000 people, state broadcaster CCTV said, adding that more than one million people were expected to be relocated across the province on Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Observatory said the weather would deteriorate “rapidly” late on Tuesday and it may issue a higher warning between 11pm and 3am on Wednesday as the storm nears the former British outpost.

It was expected to upgrade the warning level to a no-9, or even a no-10 grading, the top level, which would mean “hurricane-force winds.”

All kindergarten, primary and secondary school classes for Tuesday and Wednesday were cancelled, according to the South China Morning Post, which noted that ragasa is a Filipino word meaning ‘rapid’.

Home Affairs officials said 422 people had sought refuge in 47 temporary shelters, while authorities had already received reports of fallen trees and one about a landslide as of 5pm.

This screengrab from Hong Kong Observatory shows the trail of Ragasa through the South China Sea toward Hong Kong at 6pm today.

Sea surge

Hurricane-force winds offshore and on high ground were likely in Hong Kong on Wednesday, with heavy rain expected, plus a significant storm and sea surge in the densely packed city.

It warned of rising sea levels, which it said would be similar to those seen during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, both of which caused billions of dollars in damage.

Water levels will rise about two metres along Hong Kong’s coastal areas and maximum water levels could reach four to five metres in some areas, the observatory said, urging residents to take appropriate precautions.

Local authorities handed out sandbags for residents to bolster their homes in low-lying areas, while many people stockpiled daily necessities.

A 35-year-old resident surnamed Mak said he had already bought some groceries but still needed to get more and was preparing his home for the typhoon.

“We shut the windows and doors closely at home and checked if there is leaking,” he said.

Some businesses were hoping to profit from people working from home, while one bar on Lantau, an outlying island, was offering 20% off all drinks throughout a T8 signal.

11 cities shut down, HK exchange to stay open

More than 11 cities in Guangdong, including technology hub Shenzhen and coastal city Zhuhai had suspended work, transport services and schools due to warnings of storm surges and high waves.

However, Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange will remain open, as it changed its policy late last year to continue trading whatever the weather.

At Ragasa’s peak intensity on Monday, maximum sustained winds near its eye topped 260 kph (162 mph), making it the world’s most powerful Category 5 storm in 2025.

The typhoon weakened slightly since then, but is still capable of wreaking havoc on the densely populated Chinese coast as a Category 4 typhoon. Chinese authorities have activated flood control measures in several southern provinces, warning of heavy rain from late on Tuesday.

China’s Environmental Forecasting centre said coastal waters off Guangdong would be hit by huge to extremely rough waves with heights of up to seven metres (21 feet).

Authorities in Shenzhen have prepared more than 800 emergency shelters, while in the city’s Nanshan district, teams were chainsawing tree branches along main roads in preparation for the typhoon.

“It’s just the bigger ones where there’s a risk. We’ll be out all afternoon all over the district,” said a worker surnamed Zhang, surrounded by piles of logs from behind a taped-off area of pavement

Residents in the world’s largest gambling hub of Macau also braced for significant impact. All its casinos will be forced to shut by 5pm (0900 GMT) when the former Portuguese colony lifts its typhoon signal to 8.

Taiwan logged almost 60cm (24 inches) of rainfall in its mountainous east and reported 25 people injured, while transport disruptions continued for a second day on Tuesday with 273 flights cancelled.