SHENZHEN: China is bracing for the impact of Typhoon Ragasa, with authorities in Shenzhen preparing to evacuate nearly 400,000 residents. Meanwhile, northern Philippines has already felt the full force of the super typhoon, prompting thousands to seek shelter from its destructive winds.
The storm struck Calayan Island, part of the remote Babuyan chain in the northern Philippines, at around 3:00 pm (0700 GMT), according to the national weather bureau. By 8:00 pm (1200 GMT), Ragasa’s centre was packing maximum sustained winds of 215 km/h (134 mph) and gusts reaching 265 km/h, making it one of the most powerful storms to hit the region this year.
Local residents described terrifying scenes. “I woke up to the sound of windows rattling like a machine was running outside,” said Tirso Tugagao from Aparri, a coastal town in Cagayan province. On Calayan Island, the storm’s epicenter, a school roof was torn apart and hurled onto a nearby evacuation site, leaving one person slightly injured, local official Herbert Singun confirmed.
The devastation was visible across the island. “There were eight coconut trees in front of us yesterday, but only four remain standing now. That’s how fierce this typhoon is,” Singun said in a live video call.
Across the Philippines, more than 10,000 people were evacuated, with schools and government offices closed in Metro Manila and 29 other provinces. Authorities continue to issue alerts as China Typhoon Ragasa pushes closer to southern China, raising fears of flooding, storm surges, and power outages.
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