Typhoon Ragasa has left at least 17 dead in Taiwan and has made landfall in southern China, triggering massive evacuations and significant damage.

According to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center, in the city of Guangfu alone, in the eastern part of the island, 17 people died, 32 were injured, and 17 went missing, while 135 residents were rescued alive. 

The disaster unfolded when a natural lake along the Matai’an stream overflowed between 14:50 and 16:30 local time (06:50-08:30 GMT) on Tuesday, after a sediment-formed natural dam gave way.

Taiwanese Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai called for an investigation into why evacuation orders “were not fully followed,” even though the lake had been monitored since July. 

The typhoon, considered the most intense in Asia this year, hit Hong Kong early Wednesday with winds up to 200 km/h and torrential rainfall.

The local Meteorological Office raised the typhoon signal to level 10, the maximum, and issued an amber rain warning, affecting streets in the eastern and southern parts of the city. Waves of up to four meters were reported, along with damage to homes and urban infrastructure.

Commercial activities, public transport, and non-essential services were suspended, and residents were advised to stay indoors. By midday, 62 people were reported injured, including a woman and her five-year-old son swept by the sea and hospitalized in serious condition. Forty-nine shelters were opened, accommodating 791 people. 

The typhoon also reaches China

After Hong Kong, Typhoon Ragasa made landfall around 17:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Hailing Island, part of Yangjiang city in Guangdong province. Sustained winds of up to 150 km/h were recorded, and authorities evacuated nearly 1.89 million people from high-risk areas, with about 400,000 in Shenzhen alone. 

In Guangzhou, a city of 18 million, the government implemented the ‘five stoppages’: halting classes, work, production, transport, and commercial activities, while keeping essential services running and opening 1,570 shelters.

Shenzhen airport has been closed since Tuesday night. Ragasa is expected to continue moving westward while gradually weakening.

Typhoons are common in southeastern China and Taiwan during summer and autumn, when the warm Pacific waters foster cyclone formation, often causing significant damage and disrupting economic activities in the region