Super Typhoon Ragasa latest: ‘World’s strongest storm this year’ causes 10,000 evacuations and over 1,000 flight disruptions

A satellite view shared by Colorado State University’s CIRA Centre on X, showed the sheer scale and power of Ragasa, which has already been dubbed the “strongest storm of the year”.

Super Typhoon Ragasa continues to batter the Philippines, bringing heavy rain, extreme winds, and widespread evacuations.

Authorities in Hong Kong have announced school closures on Tuesday and Wednesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa nears, bringing winds of up to 230 kmph.

The typhoon is also expected to disrupt over 1000 flights and may cause severe damage across the city.

According to the Airport Authority Hong Kong report for January 2025, Hong Kong International Airport handled 33,660 flight movements during the month, averaging about 1,085 flights per day.

The airport may halt all passenger flights for 36 hours, and airlines like Qantas have warned of disruptions from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning.

The government has stepped up preparations, recalling the devastation caused by Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018.In Hong Kong, the typhoon is expected to bring flooding and landslides.

Authorities in the Philippines have warned that “life-threatening conditions” persist as the “strongest storm of the year” made landfall in Panuitan Island in Cagayan province.

Residents have been urged to stay in evacuation centres or secure locations until the storm passes.

Super Typhoon Ragasa continues to batter the northern part of northern Luzon Island, passing very close to Babuyan Island.

More than 10,000 people were evacuated to schools and emergency shelters in the northern Philippines on Monday as Super Typhoon Ragasa (locally called Nando) lashed the region with winds of 215kmph and gusts up to 265kmph.

Authorities warned of life-threatening storm surges in Cagayan, Batanes, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur, while power outages hit Calayan Island and Apayao province.

Schools and government offices were closed across Manila and 29 provinces, with disaster officials prepared for flooding and landslides.

The typhoon is expected to pass south of Taiwan and Hong Kong before making landfall in southern China.

In Taiwan, authorities have issued land and sea warnings and suspended some ferry services.

Typhoon Ragasa forced major travel disruptions in Taiwan today. According to UNI Airways and Mandarin Airlines, all flights to offshore islands scheduled after 12pm were cancelled, and flights to Hualien and Taitung were suspended for the entire day.

The Maritime Port Bureau reported the suspension of 88 ferry services across 13 routes, including Keelung-Matsu, Kinmen-Xiamen, Kaohsiung-Magong, and Donggang-Xiaoliuqiu, according to Focus Taiwan.

Travellers were advised not to visit offshore islands during the storm, and for those already there to return immediately.

The Central Weather Administration (CWA) maintained sea and land warnings, noting Ragasa’s storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula at 11am today, with the greatest impact expected through Tuesday.

Sea warnings may be lifted by Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, nature trails across the southern and eastern regions have been closed, and about 300 residents in Hualien County are on standby for possible evacuation due to the risk of heavy rain, flooding, and landslides.

Australia’s national carrier Qantas has announced that flights to and from Hong Kong will be disrupted from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning due to Super Typhoon Ragasa.

Super Typhoon Ragasa is hitting near the Philippines with winds of 270kmph – making it the strongest storm of the year, according to the Canadian forecaster The Weather Network.

Hurricane Erin, which had windspeeds reaching 260kmph off the US East Coast last month, is a close second.

Ragasa is expected to peak as it brushes north of the Philippines before gradually weakening to a Category 3 hurricane as it approaches China.

Cathay Pacific says it expects to cancel around 500 flights starting Tuesday as Typhoon Ragasa approaches the region.

Passengers have been advised to check updates and rebook if necessary.

Thousands of people have been evacuated in the Philippines as Typhoon Ragasa is set to make landfall on its northern islands today.

Tens of thousands of people were being evacuated in the Philippines and Taiwan on Sunday as the season’s first super typhoon bore down on the region with destructive winds and torrential rainfall.

Forecasters said Ragasa, known locally as Typhoon Nando, had undergone “explosive strengthening” over the Philippine Sea and was threatening to become one of the strongest storms to hit Asia this year.

At around 11am local time, the Philippine weather agency Pagasa reported maximum sustained winds of 185kmph and gusts of up to 230kmph, warning of “life-threatening flooding, landslides and storm surges” across northern Luzon.

Power has been knocked out on Calayan Island and across Apayao province as Super Typhoon Ragasa approaches the northern Philippines.

More than 8,000 people have been evacuated to safety, with residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas moved to emergency shelters.

Super Typhoon Ragasa had sustained winds of 215kmph (134mph) and gusts of up to 265kmph (165mph) and was centred east of the island town of Calayan off Cagayan province, Philippine forecasters said.

The Philippines’ weather agency warned of coastal inundation, saying “there is a high risk of life-threatening storm surge with peak heights exceeding 3m (nearly 10ft) within the next 24 hours over the low-lying or exposed coastal localities” of the northern provinces of Cagayan, Batanes, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or further damage from Ragasa, which is locally called Nando.