Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year, lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday, while heavy downpours in Taiwan resulted in the deaths of 14 people with 124 missing, reports Reuters.
A barrier lake in Taiwan's eastern Hualien county overflowed and sent a wall of water into a town, as heavy rains from Ragasa battered the island, the Taiwan fire department said on Wednesday.
The news reports that from Wednesday, heavy winds and continuous heavy rainfall have been sweeping across the island since the morning, local time. Due to the typhoon, both Taiwan and Hong Kong, another autonomous territory in the South China Sea, are experiencing heavy rainfall and strong winds throughout the day.
However, no reports of casualties have yet been received from Hong Kong.
The meteorological department stated that Typhoon Raggasa first hit the northern Philippine province of Batanes Island at 3 p.m. on Monday. The storm, with winds reaching speeds of 230 kilometers per hour, caused widespread damage there. Later, on Tuesday night, the typhoon made landfall on Taiwan's coast.
Taiwan's emergency services have reported that a large number of rescue workers are actively searching for the missing. Rescue and relief operations have been intensified in the affected areas.
Experts say that Typhoon Raggasa, which originated from a powerful low-pressure system in the South China Sea, was so strong that it has been declared a "super typhoon."
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