Typhoon Ragasa kills 14 in Taiwan, prompts China to evacuate 2 million
At least 14 people were killed in Taiwan, and more than 120 remain missing after torrential rains from supertyphoon Ragasa caused a mountain lake to burst. The collapse in Hualien County on Tuesday afternoon sent roughly 60 million tons of water cascading down hillsides, devastating the town of Guangfu, about 125 miles south of Taipei.
Rescue teams rushed to the remote area, where a major bridge was destroyed, cars and motorcycles were swept into piles, and more than 5,200 of Guangfu’s 8,700 residents sought refuge on upper floors or evacuated entirely. Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai ordered an investigation into why prior evacuation orders for Hualien County were not fully enforced. Across Taiwan, at least six people were injured, and hundreds of flights and sea crossings were canceled.
Ragasa, the world’s strongest tropical storm of 2025, packing winds near 180 mph, passed south of Taiwan and is moving toward China, prompting the evacuation of 2 million people, mostly in Guangdong province. Officials warned of storm surges up to 16.5 feet. The storm’s center was located in the South China Sea, about 70 miles southwest of Macau, and is expected to make landfall along the Guangdong coast between Yangjiang and Zhanjiang before continuing westward toward Vietnam as it weakens.
In Guangdong, schools, factories, and public transport were shut down across at least a dozen cities, with 38,000 firefighters, over 5,700 fire trucks, and 1,174 boats on standby. Authorities also deployed 11,000 emergency response workers for transport infrastructure and nearly 9,000 telecommunications repair personnel in the Pearl River Delta and western Guangdong.
Hong Kong raised its typhoon warning to the highest level, signaling hurricane-force winds, and ordered residents to shelter indoors. Schools, businesses, and Hong Kong International Airport closed, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded. Panic buying emptied supermarket shelves of essentials, including bread, vegetables, meat, and instant noodles.
Ragasa had earlier struck the northern Philippines, killing three people, forcing thousands to evacuate, and leaving widespread damage in its wake.
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