The strongest storms ever fell into the Northern Philippines with destructive winds and heavy rain.
Typhoon Ragasa, known in the Philippines as Nando, landed on Panzan Island in northern Cagayan on Monday, according to the country’s Meteorological Agency (Pagasa).
Tens of millions of people could be affected by the storm. It is expected to pass through some of the Asian island nations before heading to major cities in Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Guangdong province in mainland China.
“In wind-exposed coastal and highland/mountainous areas, local winds may be slightly stronger/enhanced. In areas protected from wind directions, the wind is not that strong,” Pagasa said.
As of Monday morning, the storm had moved west just over 1,000 km east-southeast of Hong Kong, at about 23 kph (14 mph).
Without landing directly in the Philippines, the bands on the outside of Lagatha unleash heavy rain and destructive gusts of winds above 315 kph (195 mph). Floods and landslides are possible in northern Luzon, where the total rainfall in some spots can exceed 400 mm (15 inches).
Huge waves, over 3 meters (10 feet) have threatened to inundate Batanes and the Babuyan Islands in the Philippines, the eastern eastern part of the coastal region of southern China and Vietnam.
Thousands of people have been evacuated in the Philippines
The Philippine weather agency issued the highest tropical cyclone wind signal No. 5 on Monday morning in the northern Babuyan Islands, warning of “potentially highly destructive” conditions and “life-threatening storm risk (surge).”
The Philippine Ministry of Interior and Local Government said in a statement that more than 10,000 people had been evacuated in northern and central Luzon. “The home and property can be rebuilt, but it cannot replace lost lives,” the department said, urging residents to pay attention to evacuation warnings.
In a video posted by the department on Camiguin Island, intense winds and seawater whipped past homes into the streets of their homes. Further north, footage taken by residents showed fierce gusts of winds dumping tall trees in Batanes.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended government jobs and classes in 29 provinces in the Metro Manila and Luzon region on Monday, the Associated Press reported. The hospital in northern Cagayan was also on guard. The typhoon also knocked out power across Karajan Island and North Apayao Province.
Flood warnings have also been issued for lowland areas of Lusonn, Philippines, as winds in Lagatha promote the threat of heavy rains and flood damage.
The archipelago experiences multiple typhoons each year, but the human climate crisis has made the storms more unpredictable and extreme.
In 2024, the Philippines was hit by four typhoons within two weeks, causing massive damage from heavy rain, rainfall and landslides.
Elsewhere in the area, authorities have announced several safeguards for civilians before the storm set ashore, including school closures, halting major transport links and evacuation orders.
In China, authorities were preparing to relocate 400,000 people from the lowlands and coastal areas of Shenzhen. Further north, trains will be gradually suspended across Guangdong on Tuesday, railway officials said.
Taiwanese authorities issued land and sea warnings and announced the suspension of closures of several ferry services and natural trails ahead of heavy rain and flooding. In eastern Healian County, about 300 residents went on standby on their own to evacuate.
After cleaning up the south of Taiwan, Lagatha is expected to move south of Hong Kong early on Wednesday, with maximum winds above 200 kph and Gust at 250 kph.
The Financial Hub has stepped up preparations to deal with floods, landslides and fallen trees, including school closures on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to the Associated Press, Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific Airway will suspend passenger flights scheduled to depart and arrive in the city on Tuesday night. Over 500 flights are expected to be cancelled. Another regional airline, Hong Kong Airlines, also suspended dozens of flights that week.
The mega bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and China’s Zhuhai cities will be suspended from Tuesday, the government added.
All Hong Kong schools will be suspended from Tuesday to Wednesday, the government said on Monday. Local district offices promote temporary shelters, with emergency police, firefighters and medical crews fully waiting.
The sea conditions could resemble previous deadly and destructive storms, including the typhoon pigeon that caused massive winds and floods to cities in Macau and Hong Kong in 2017, and the typhoon mankfoot that thwarted Hong Kong and southern China after killing dozens of people in the Philippines in 2018.
Last month, Hong Kong recorded its highest daily rainfall in August, after its record began in 1884.
“Extreme rain events have become more frequent. The hourly rainfall record at the Hong Kong Astronomical Primary has been broken once in the last few decades. However, the record has been broken several times over the last few decades,” the Hong Kong Observatory said on its website.
The Western Pacific is the most active tropical basin on the planet, and September is often the busiest stretch. Ragatha reminds us how fast the storms in the region can rush in and how destructive they can be as they approach the more populated coastline.
Global ocean temperatures have been at record levels for each of the last eight years. Hotier oceans supercharged by human-induced global warming provide enough energy for storms to enhance.
The rapid strengthening of the Supertypen Lagatha was brought about by an Aiwaal exchange cycle in which a secondary ring of thunderstorms formed outside the core of the storm and gradually replaced the original inner eye wall.
Once this is done, the storm will grow larger with wider wind fields and more powerful eyes. These bursts of explosive reinforcement are becoming more common as the world warms.
