Hong Kong and southern China crashes as super typhoon approaches

China has evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and has ordered at least 10 cities to close schools and some businesses, as the strongest storm of the year descends to its southern shore.

Hong Kong has upgraded his typhoon warning to eight – only two levels below the maximum – before the arrival of Super Typhoon Ragasa.

The storm is expected to make land in the Chinese province of Guangdong on Wednesday, where about 370,000 people have been evacuated so far, as authorities have warned of a “catastrophic” situation.

Ragasa is called the “King of Storms” by the China Meteorological Agency and is expected to move to North Vietnam in the coming days, which potentially affects millions.

On Tuesday, the shelves of the Hong Kong supermarkets were wiped with fresh bread, vegetables, meat and instant noodles as residents prepared to transfer.

Hong Kong International Airport said it expects “Significant Disorders of Flight Operations” from 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday until the next day.

More than 500 Cathay Pacific flights are expected to be canceled while Hong Kong Airlines has said it will stop all the deviations from the city.

In the cities in southern China, store owners have accumulated sand bags in front of their shops, preparing for the arrival of the storm, with residents in low areas near the maritime front, especially worried about the tides of the tides.

Many have also recorded the windows of their homes and businesses, hoping to prevent their destruction.

It is not yet clear how accurate the climate change influenced Ragasa specifically. But It is expected to make a warmed world Tropical storms such as typhoons and hurricanes more intensive, according to UN scientists.

This means higher wind speeds, heavy rainfall and higher risk of coastal flood, although the number of typhoons in Eastern and Southeast Asia may decrease in the future.

On the island of Taiwan, at least six people were injured and over 100 international fields were canceled when Ragasa passed at night.

Ragasa also threw himself over a remote island in the northern part of the Philippines on Monday, killing at least one person, as thousands of families were evacuated before the storm made the land.

Schools and government services were closed in large parts of the country, including in the capital Manila.

Super Typhoon Ragasa – Category 5 Hurricane equivalent – Packed wind gusts up to 285 km/h (177MP) at the highest point on Monday and caused flood warnings, storms and landslides throughout the region this week.

Ragasa will “pose a serious threat” to Hong Kong, said Eric Chan, the city’s chief secretary for administration, comparing him to two other typhoons who leave behind traces of severe destruction.

Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 – To date, the most intensive typhoon that hit the city – wounded 200 people, sank ships and destroyed infrastructure, with the meteorological agency estimating economic losses of $ 4.6 billion ($ 592 million: £ 438m).

In 2017, Typhoon Hato unleashed a serious flood and wound more than 100 people in the city.

With additional reporting from Kelly NG in Singapore and Mark Pointing, a climate reporter