CNN
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Almost two million people in southern China have been evacuated while a powerful typhoon plagues one of the most densely populated coasts in the world, having already caused mortal floods in Taiwan.
The typhoon Ragasa, which a few days ago was the strongest storm on the planet so far this year, has hit remote islands of the Philippines and the mountainous regions of Taiwan. He has left a wake of damage, causing landslides and huge waves, and has forced to evacuate more than one million people in southern China.
The storm, which carries hurricane winds, has left a trace of damage, causing landslides, floods and huge waves, and now goes to the Chinese province of Guangdong, where large cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou are found.
In Taiwan, at least 15 People died and rescuers were struggling to locate another 17 who were still missing on Wednesday afternoon, local time, after a natural dam that contained a recently formed lake collapsed the day before, releasing 68 million tons of water and flooding the nearby municipality of Guangfu.
The videos of the city, in the mountainous eastern county of Hualien, show a torrent of water running through the streets, with dragged cars and residents taking refuge in upper floors while the lower levels of their houses are flooded.
The debris of a landslide in July formed the natural dam, and the authorities had been warning that the remote lake could overflow for October. At a press conference on Wednesday, the authorities reported that the evaluations indicated that it was not viable dredging, extracting with siphon or withdrawing in any other way the barrier of the dam, so they chose to monitor the situation.
Before the typhoon arrived, the authorities said they had issued multiple warnings and evacuation warnings to residents who could be affected if the lake overflowed.
But its October prediction did not take into account heavy rains, and any strong typhoon could have accelerated that process, said Kuo-Lung Wang, a professor at the Chi Nan National University of Taiwan.
A large bridge in Hualien was also razed by the water stream after the collapse of the natural dam.
Philippines, Taiwan and southern China experience multiple typhons per year, but the climatic crisis caused by man has made the storms more unpredictable and extreme.
As the storm approached the International Financial Center of Hong Kong at dawn on Wednesday, he brought hurricane winds that knocked down trees and started scaffolding from the buildings, reaching maximum bursts of 168 kilometers per hour (104.39 mph). A CNN reporter from the ground saw Olas hitting the sidewalk near the emblematic port of Hong Kong.
Emergency services helped residents get safe after flooding in Macao on Wednesday. HKTVB
In a statement to CNN, the hotel said that no injuries were reported and that the government had mobilized resources “immediately” to respond.
Macao photos and videos showed water to the waist flooding the streets of this tourist and gambling center, often considered the most densely populated city on the planet.
The winds generated that Hong Kong and Macao – with more than 8 million inhabitants together – emit their maximum hurricane alert, with schools, shops and public transport practically closed, including the city airport, one of the busiest in Asia. The Hong Kong Observatory registered cyconic swells of more than 3 meters in some areas of the city.
Other cities along the southern coast of China were also preparing for the impact, and the authorities implemented measures to protect the most exposed to cyclonic swells and landslides.
The storm had the force equivalent to a category 3 hurricane while heading towards land in Continental China on Wednesday afternoon, local time.
As the storm approached the International Financial Center of Hong Kong at dawn on Wednesday, he brought hurricane winds that knocked down trees and started scaffolding from the buildings, reaching maximum bursts of 168 kilometers per hour (104.39 mph). A CNN reporter from the ground saw Olas hitting the sidewalk near the emblematic port of Hong Kong.
A video that circulates on social networks seems to show how cyclonic swells destroyed the glass doors of a hotel by the sea, with huge waves that broke into the lobby and dragged people. CNN cannot verify the video independently and has contacted the hotel for comments.
The winds were the cause for Hong Kong and Macao – with more than 8 million inhabitants together – issue their maximum hurricane alert, with schools, shops and public transport practically closed. The cyclonic swells could reach up to four meters in some areas on Wednesday, warned the Hong Kong Observatory.
Other cities on the southern coast of China also prepare for the impact. The province of Guangdong, to the south of the country, evacuated more than one million people on Tuesday night before the arrival of the typhoon, and more than 10,000 boats were relocated in safer waters to avoid storm. More than 38,000 firefighters are on duty, according to the Xinhua state media.
The mud is in the streets as the waters of the flood back in Hualien on September 24, 2025, after the outbreak of a barrier lake.
Although this region is densely populated, with dozens of millions of people potentially affected by the typhoon, it is also well prepared. These cities are frequently found in storm areas and have developed sophisticated infrastructure to combat climate -related dangers, including a vast drainage network of US $ 3.8 billion that has saved Hong Kong from floods that decades used to cost lives and cause generalized destruction.
This year has been particularly stormy. Hong Kong usually experiences about six typhons per year, but Ragasa marks the ninth typhoon so far this year, according to the University of Hong Kong.
Typhoon Ragasa in Uyugan, Batanes province, north of the Philippines, on September 23, 2025.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=”this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)” onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”573″ width=”860″ loading=”lazy”/>
When the storm, also known as Typhoon Nando, touched land for the first time in northern Philippines, was the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane, so large that it could easily be seen from space, with images that showed the eye of the storm in the middle of a gigantic white cloud.
Since then it has weakened slightly, but another storm called Opong is now intensifying in the Philippines after Ragasa.
So far four deaths have been reported in the Philippines, which are still being verified, according to the state news agency.
