Southern China cancels schools and flights as Super Typhoon Ragasa approaches

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HONG KONG (AP) — Southern Chinese cities scaled back many aspects of daily life on Tuesday with school and business closures and flight cancellations as the region braced for one of the strongest typhoons in years that has already killed three people and displaced thousands in the Philippines.

Residents living in flood-prone areas put sandbags and barriers at their doors, while others taped windows and glass doors to brace for strong winds. Many people stockpiled food and other supplies on Monday, and some market vendors reported their goods were selling out fast. Some Hong Kongers gathered on a promenade to watch waves as high as 2 to 3 meters (6.5 to 9.8 feet) splash onto the pedestrian area before the weather worsens.

Hong Kong' s observatory said Super Typhoon Ragasa, which was packing maximum sustained winds near the center of about 220 kph (137 mph), is expected to move west-northwest at about 22 kph (14 mph) across the northern part of the South China Sea and edge closer to the coast of Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse.

China’s National Meteorological Center forecast the typhoon would make landfall in the coastal area between Zhuhai and Zhanjiang cities in Guangdong between midday and evening on Wednesday.

The observatory in Hong Kong issued storm warning signal No. 8, the third-highest in the city’s weather alert system. The city categorizes tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds near the center of 185 kph (115 mph) or above as super typhoons to make residents extra vigilant about the approach of more intense storms.

The water level was forecast to rise about 2 meters (6.5 feet) over coastal areas in the Asian financial hub on Wednesday morning, and the maximum level in some areas could hit 4 to 5 meters (13.1 to 16.4 feet) above the typical lowest sea level.

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.

Schools were closed in Hong Kong and the neighboring casino city of Macao. Other cities such as the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Foshan in Guangdong province and Haikou in Hainan province ordered class cancellations and a gradual suspension of other businesses, production and transportation.

Hundreds of flights were canceled in Hong Kong. Shenzhen airport will halt all flights from Tuesday night. The Macao government was evacuating residents and tourists and ordered bridges to close in the evening.

At least six people were injured and over 7,000 people were evacuated in Taiwan when the typhoon swept south of the island, the Central News Agency reported. It said heavy rain caused a landslide dam in Hualien County to overflow and torrents of water rushed downstream and swept away a bridge. Social media posts showed roads in the area turned into churning rivers.

In the northern Philippines, Ragasa left at least three people dead, five others missing and displaced more than 17,500 in flooding and landslides, officials said.

The dead included a 74-year-old man, who was 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.

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 canceled.

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Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.