Taiwan, Southern China Assess Devastation After Deadly Super Typhoon Ragasa

Taiwan and southern China are grappling with the widespread devastation left by Super Typhoon Ragasa, which has claimed at least 14 lives in Taiwan, left scores missing, and caused extensive flooding and destruction across the region. The world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year, Ragasa, barreled through on Wednesday, September 24, leaving communities reeling from its ferocious winds and torrential rains.

In Taiwan’s eastern Hualien county, a critical incident unfolded on September 23 when a barrier lake, formed by previous typhoons and heavy rainfall, overflowed. This unleashed a ‘wall of water’ into the town of Guangfu, destroying a major road bridge and flooding a nearby village. Residents described the water surge as ‘tsunami-like,’ with many forced to seek shelter on higher floors. The lake, which had grown significantly since July, released an estimated 60 million metric tons of water, causing widespread chaos and hampering rescue efforts due to its remote and hazardous location.

Meanwhile, the super typhoon lashed Hong Kong with ferocious winds, leading authorities to impose the highest typhoon signal 10 for most of Wednesday. Over 90 people were injured, and storm surges submerged parts of the city’s eastern and southern shoreline. Across southern China, particularly in the densely populated Pearl River Delta, more than 2 million people were evacuated across Guangdong province as Ragasa made landfall. Cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, and Dongguan, home to around 50 million, were directly in the storm’s path, prompting massive emergency responses. As of Thursday, September 25, flights gradually resumed in Hong Kong, and authorities began assessing the full extent of the damage across the affected areas.

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