In Taiwan, floods claimed 17 lives as roads were submerged, sweeping away vehicles in one county, while 10 fatalities were reported in the northern Philippines.

Nearly 1.9 million people were relocated across Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse.

A weather station in Chuandao town recorded maximum gusts of 241km/hr at noon, a high in Jiangmen city since record-keeping began.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, the typhoon struck land along the coast of Hailing Island in Yangjiang city around 5 pm (7 pm Wednesday AEST), with peak winds near the center reaching 144 km/hr.

Violent winds battered trees and buildings, with torrential rain lowering visibility, video from China’s state-run Xinhua news agency showed.

The storm is expected to continue moving west, leading to the cancellation of some train services in the Guangxi region on Thursday. Chinese authorities have allocated tens of millions of dollars for relief efforts.

Initially, schools, factories, and transportation services were halted in about a dozen cities, but some areas far from the landfall site were preparing to resume activities as winds diminished.

Winds and waves lash Hong Kong

The intense winds from Ragasa, once a super typhoon, awakened Hong Kong residents early in the morning, with many describing incidents online such as a kitchen ventilation fan being torn down and a crane swaying.

Strong gusts tore away sections of a pedestrian bridge’s roof and toppled hundreds of trees citywide. A vessel crashed ashore, destroying a row of glass railings along the waterfront.

Areas around some rivers and promenades were flooded, including cycling lanes and playgrounds. At several promenade restaurants, furniture was scattered chaotically by the winds. Ninety injured people were treated at hospitals.

A video that showed waves of water crashing through the doors of a hotel and flooding its interiors went viral in the financial hub. The hotel has not immediately commented on the incident.

Hong Kong and Macao, a nearby casino hub, cancelled schools and flights, with many shops closed. Hundreds of people sought refuge in temporary centres in each city. Streets in Macao turned into streams with debris floating on the water.

Rescue crews deployed inflatable boats to save those who were trapped.

The gambling city’s local electricity supplier suspended its power supply in some flooded, low-lying areas for safety. As the winds eased, some waded into flooded streets to catch fish.

Hong Kong’s observatory said Ragasa had maximum sustained winds near the centre of about 195km/hr and skirted around 100km to the south of the city.

Hong Kong categorises cyclones with sustained winds 185km/hr or stronger as super typhoons to make residents extra vigilant about intense storms.

The observatory said Ragasa is the strongest tropical cyclone in the northwestern Pacific and South China Sea region so far this year. Preliminary analysis showed it also ranks as the second-strongest one in the South China Sea region since the observatory’s record-keeping began in 1950, tying with typhoons Saola in 2023 and Yagi in 2024, it said.

Dozens dead in floods and at sea in Philippines and Taiwan

Ragasa earlier caused deaths and damage in Taiwan and the Philippines after the typhoon took a path between them.

In Taiwan, 17 people died after heavy rain caused a barrier lake in Hualien County to overflow Tuesday and torrents of muddy water destroyed a bridge, turning roads in Guangfu township into churning rivers that carried vehicles and furniture away.

Guangfu has about 8450 people, more than half of whom sought safety on higher floors of their homes or on higher ground on Wednesday morning.

Rescuers managed to establish contact with more than 100 others who were previously unreachable in Hualien, and were going door-to-door to check on the remaining 17 residents. A total of 32 people were injured across the self-ruled island.

At least 10 deaths were reported in the northern Philippines, including seven fishermen who drowned after their boat was battered by huge waves and fierce wind and flipped over on Monday off Santa Ana town in northern Cagayan province. Five other fishermen remained missing, provincial officials said.

Nearly 700,000 people were affected by the onslaught, of whom 25,000 fled to government emergency shelters.