Super Typhoon Approaches Northern Philippines and Taiwan, Leading to Evacuations and Shutdowns

MANILA – Thousands evacuated from northern Philippine villages, and offices and schools were shuttered on Monday across the archipelago and nearby Taiwan as a powerful typhoon this year approached, threatening floods and landslides before heading towards southeastern China.

Super Typhoon Ragasa recorded sustained winds of 215 kilometers (134 miles) per hour with gusts reaching 265 kph (165 mph), positioned east of the island town of Calayan in Cagayan province, according to Philippine forecasters. Advancing at 20 kph (12 mph) westward, it was expected to approach closely or make landfall over Cagayan’s Babuyan islands by late morning or early afternoon Monday.

The weather agency in the Philippines issued warnings of possible coastal flooding, cautioning, “there is a high risk of life-threatening storm surge with peak heights exceeding 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) within the next 24 hours in the low-lying or exposed coastal areas” of the northern provinces of Cagayan, Batanes, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur.

Calayan island and the entire northern mountainous province of Apayao, west of Cagayan, experienced power outages, as reported by disaster-response officials, though no immediate casualties or additional damage from Ragasa, locally known as Nando, were reported.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a suspension of government operations and classes at all levels on Monday in the capital and across 29 provinces in the principal northern Luzon region.

Over 8,200 individuals sought safety in Cagayan, while 1,220 people moved to emergency shelters in the flood and landslide-prone area of Apayao. Domestic flights were halted in the northern provinces hit by the typhoon, and fishing vessels and inter-island ferries were barred from departing due to the extremely rough seas.

Ragasa, the 14th weather disturbance to batter the Philippines this year, comes while authorities and both chambers of Congress investigate a corruption scandal involving alleged kickbacks that resulted in substandard or non-existent flood control projects.

The typhoon is forecast to remain in the South China Sea at least into Wednesday while passing south of Taiwan and Hong Kong before landfall on the Chinese mainland.

Taiwan’s southern Taitung and Pingtung counties ordered closures in some coastal and mountainous areas as well as on the outlying Orchid and Green islands.

The typhoon is expected to sweep south of Hong Kong and Macao. Some Hong Kong residents started stocking up extra food. More than double the usual number of sandbags have been provided to flood-prone areas across Hong Kong, the government said. Macao police urged people living in low-lying areas to prepare for possible evacuation.

Ragasa is expected to bring torrential rains and heavy winds to China’s mainland coastal areas starting Tuesday. The cities of Jiangmen, Yangjiang, Zhongshan and Zhuhai in southern Guangdong province ordered the suspension of schools, offices, factories and means of transportation. The typhoon could make landfall in Guangdong more than once, China’s weather agency said. Authorities urged residents to stockpile emergency supplies, reinforce doors and windows and evacuate underground areas.

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AP journalists Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, and Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.