China cancels schools, flights as it braces for Typhoon Ragasa

Southern Chinese cities scaled back many aspects of daily life on Tuesday with school and business closures and flight cancellations as the region braced for one of the strongest typhoons in years that has already killed three people and led to the displacement of thousands of others in the PhilippinesHong Kongs observatory said Super Typhoon Ragasa which was packing maximum sustained winds near the centre of about 230 kph is expected to move westnorthwest at about 22 kph across the northern part of the South China Sea and edge closer to the coast of Guangdong province the southern Chinese economic powerhouseChinas National Meteorological Centre forecast the typhoon would make landfall in the coastal area between Shenzhen city and Xuwen county in Guangdong province on WednesdayAlready hoisting a strong wind signal the observatory in Hong Kong will issue storm warning signal No 8 the thirdhighest in the citys weather alert system on Tuesday afternoon and will assess the necessity of upgrading the signal on Tuesday night or Wednesday morningThe city categorises tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds near the centre of 185 kph or above as super typhoons to make residents extra vigilant about the approach of more intense stormsThe water level is forecast to rise about 2 metres over coastal areas in the Asian financial hub on Wednesday morning and the maximum water level in some areas could hit 4 to 5 metres above the typical lowest sea levelThe government said the water levels could be similar to those recorded during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 estimated to have caused the city direct economic losses worth over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars USD 154 million and 46 billion Hong Kong dollars about USD 590 million respectivelyResidents living in floodprone areas have already put sandbags and barriers at their doors while others have put tape on windows and glass doors to brace for strong winds Many people stockpiled food and daily supplies on Monday as some market vendors reported that their goods were selling out fastSchools were closed in Hong Kong and the neighbouring city of Macao Other cities such as the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen and Foshan in Guangdong province and Haikou in Hainan province ordered class cancellations and a gradual suspension of other businesses and transportationHundreds of flights were cancelled in Hong Kong Shenzhen airport will halt all flights from Tuesday night The Macao government activated its emergency response mechanism as it expected Ragasa would pass within 100 kilometers to the south of the casino hub on Wednesday morningAt least six people were injured and over 7000 people were evacuated in Taiwan when the typhoon swept south of the island and over 8000 households were impacted by a power outage the Central News Agency reportedIn the Philippines Ragasa left at least three people dead and five others missing and displaced more than 17500 people in flooding and landslides set off by the most powerful storm to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago this year the countrys disasterresponse agency and provincial officials saidThe dead included a 74yearold man who died while being brought to a hospital after being pinned in one of four vehicles that were partly buried by mud rocks and trees that cascaded down a mountainside onto a narrow road on Monday in the mountain town of Tuba in Benguet province officials saidTwo other villagers died in the storm including a resident in Calayan town a cluster of islands off northern Cagayan province where the super typhoon made landfall on Monday officials said without providing detailsRagasa Tagalog for scramble prompted the Philippine government on Monday to close schools and government offices in the densely populated capital region and 29 northern provinces Fishing boats and ferries were prohibited from venturing into very rough seas and domestic flights were cancelledThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever