The strongest storm anywhere in the world this year is passing over the northern Philippines with destructive winds and torrential rain, prompting evacuations of thousands of people and preparations in nearby Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China.
After undergoing rapid intensification over the Philippine Sea, Ragasa – known in the Philippines as Nando – was a large and powerful super typhoon, packing sustained winds of over 267 kph (165 mph), the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.
Tens of millions of people could be impacted by the storm, expected to make landfall in or pass close to Batanes and the Babuyan Islands, north of the Philippines’ Luzon, on 22 September before heading toward the major cities of Hong Kong and Macau, and mainland China’s Guangdong Province.
"Life-threatening conditions persist over the northern portion of northern Luzon as 'Nando' approaches the Babuyan islands," the Philippines meteorological agency PAGASA said.
As of Monday morning, the storm was located just over 1,000 km east-southeast of Hong Kong and moving west at roughly 23 kph (14 mph).
Even without making direct landfall in the Philippines, Ragasa’s outer bands will unleash torrential rain and destructive wind gusts of over 315 kph (195 mph). Flooding and landslides are possible in northern Luzon, where rainfall totals could exceed 400 mm (15 inches) in some spots.
Dangerous storm surge of 3 meters (10 feet) or more and massive waves threaten to inundate coastal areas of the Philippines’ Batanes and Babuyan Islands, eastern Taiwan, and later southern China and Vietnam.
The Philippines issued its highest tropical cyclone wind signal No. 5 Monday morning for the Babuyan Islands, warning of "potentially very destructive" conditions and "a high risk of life-threatening storm (surges)" for those areas, according to PAGASA.
More than 10,000 people were evacuated across northern and central Luzon ahead of the typhoon, the Philippines Department of the Interior and Local Government said in a statement.
"Homes and property can be rebuilt, but lives lost can never be replaced," the department said as it urged residents to heed evacuation warnings.
Video from Camiguin Island, posted by the department, showed fierce winds and ocean water surging past houses onto a residential street.
Work and classes were suspended across a large part of the country, including the capital area Metro Manila. Hospitals in northern Cagayan province were also put on alert.