Devastation Looms: Typhoon Ragasa Hits China's Southern Coast

Sun Oct 19 2025 23:56:34 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Typhoon Ragasa, the most powerful storm of 2025, brings destructive winds and torrential rain to Zhuhai and surrounding areas, forcing evacuations and halting daily life.

Typhoon Ragasa has made landfall in Zhuhai, China, unleashing 100mph winds and relentless rain, leading to widespread evacuations. Local authorities have taken extensive measures to ensure safety as the storm wreaks havoc across the region, with ongoing alerts for heavy rain and potential landslides. Residents, accustomed to such natural disasters, appear resigned but prepared for the storm's impact.

The sound of rush hour in Zhuhai on China's southern coast has been replaced by howling winds and sheets of rain. Branches from falling trees and what looked like pieces of metal from the edge of a building flew along empty roads on Wednesday as typhoon Ragasa bore down.

Police vehicles have been patrolling the streets with megaphones, urging people to stay inside - but it is difficult to hear them above gusts of 100mph (160km/h) winds. Still, the thundering skies and a drenched Zhuhai are enough of a warning – apart from an occasional cyclist, determined to get to work, most people heeded the advice, bringing this city of almost three million people to a standstill.

The strongest storm the world has seen this year, Ragasa has been making its way across the South China Sea after battering the Philippines and Taiwan. At least 15 people have died in eastern Taiwan after a mountain lake burst its banks, officials have said.

As the storm brushed past Hong Kong, steep waves crashed into land, inundating coastal areas, alongside powerful winds and rain, leaving more than 60 people injured.

It made landfall in China this evening at 17:00 local time (09:00 GMT). By then nearly two million people in densely populated Guangdong province, home to Zhuhai, had already been evacuated. Officials have also issued a red alert for high tides and coastal surges.

As the eye of the storm barrelled close to the mainland, the rain lashed the city's tall buildings. The wind, already strong, hit harder in waves and blasts, which made standing upright almost impossible. Even watching from inside, windows in our new hotel creaked under the strain.

This hotel is also hosting some of those who have been evacuated from low-lying areas across this province. Families mill around, with the few possessions they were able to grab for the night, while their children dance through the hallways – perhaps just happy to have the day off school.

Authorities in China have had plenty of practice at preparing for disasters. They take the warnings very seriously. They fear criticism, which has happened in previous natural disasters, that they did not do enough to keep people safe.

This has been a year of extreme weather for the country – heatwaves, storms, droughts, floods and ruined harvests.

Typhoon Ragasa has been yet another test of China's preparedness. And it is not over yet. There are still alerts for heavy rain in the next few days and warnings of landslides in mountainous areas.