HONG KONG – Southern Chinese cities began curtailing various daily activities on Tuesday, closing schools and businesses while canceling flights as they prepared for what is anticipated to be one of the most powerful typhoons in years. This storm has already caused the deaths of three individuals and displaced thousands in the Philippines.

Hong Kong’s observatory reported that Super Typhoon Ragasa, with maximum sustained winds near its center reaching approximately 143 mph (230 kph), is predicted to progress west-northwest at about 14 mph (22 kph) across the northern sector of the South China Sea, approaching Guangdong province’s coast, a key economic area in southern China.

The National Meteorological Center of China has forecasted that the typhoon will make landfall along the coastline between Shenzhen city and Xuwen county in Guangdong province by Wednesday.

The observatory in Hong Kong, already issuing a strong wind signal, plans to escalate to storm warning signal No. 8 by Tuesday afternoon. This is the third-highest tier in the city’s weather alert system, with further evaluations on signal upgrades planned for Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

In Hong Kong, tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 185 kph (115 mph) or higher are classified as super typhoons, urging residents to be particularly cautious due to the severity of these storms.

On Wednesday morning, water levels are expected to rise roughly 2 meters (6.5 feet) above typical levels in coastal areas of this Asian financial hub, with potential peaks reaching 4 to 5 meters (13.1 to 16.4 feet) above the usual lowest sea level in certain regions.

The 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 ($154 million) and 4.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $590 million), respectively.

Residents living in flood-prone 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 fast.

Schools were closed in Hong Kong and the neighboring 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 transportation.

Hundreds of flights were canceled 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 62 miles (100 kilometers) to the south of the casino hub on Wednesday morning.

In the Philippines, Ragasa left at least three people dead and five others missing and displaced more than 17,500 people in flooding and landslides set off by the most powerful storm to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago this year, the country’s disaster-response agency and provincial officials said.

The dead included a 74-year-old 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 said.

Two 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 details.

Ragasa, 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 cancelled.

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Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.