HONG KONG, Sept 24 — 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.
Another 129 are missing after 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.
Since Monday, Taiwan has been hit by the outer rim of Ragasa, which has brought torrential rains to the island.
In Hong Kong, roads were deserted as authorities instructed people to stay indoors and surging waves crashed over parts of the Asian financial hub's eastern and southern shoreline, submerging some roads along residential properties.
At outlying island's including Lantau, home to the city's international airport, widespread flooding was seen, swamping beaches and vegetation.
"Areas which were previously sheltered may become exposed... seas will be phenomenal with swells," the observatory said.
Ragasa, packing winds of up to 200km/h, will be closest to the city in the next few hours, around 100km south of the densely populated territory.
It is expected to maintain super typhoon intensity as it moves toward the coast of China's Guangdong province, home to more than 125 million people, where it is expected to make landfall from midday.
Ragasa swept through the northern Philippines on Monday and Taiwan on Tuesday.
The typhoon sparked panic buying this week in Hong Kong, with people crowding into supermarkets, leaving little on the shelves and in some cases queuing for hours to purchase goods amid fears that shops could be closed for two days.
As the typhoon approached, residents taped their windows in the hope of reducing the risk of injury from shattered glass.
Hong Kong issued the typhoon signal 10, its highest warning, early on Wednesday, which urges businesses and transport services to shut down.
Authorities also issued the Amber rainstorm signal, as heavy rain was expected to continue, with some streets already partially flooded, according to the South China Morning Post.
Authorities have warned of rising sea levels, saying they could be similar to those seen during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, both of which caused billions of dollars in damage.
The government said it had opened 49 temporary shelters in various districts and 727 people have sought refuge at the shelters.
Hong Kong's Stock Exchange will remain open. It changed its policy late last year to continue trading whatever the weather.
