Big clean-up in south China in wake of Typhoon Ragasa
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People clearing water outside a shopping mall after flooding caused by Super Typhoon Ragasa in Zhuhai, China, on Sept 25.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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YANGJIANG, China – Hundreds of thousands of people in southern China were cleaning up on Sept 25 after powerful Typhoon Ragasa crashed through Guangdong province, ripping down trees, destroying fences and blasting signs off buildings.
Typhoon Ragasa churned into Guangdong, home to tens of millions of people, with winds of up to 145kmh, on Sept 24 after sweeping past Hong Kong and killing at least 14 in Taiwan.
AFP journalists at the impact point around the city of Yangjiang on Sept 25 saw fallen trees, with road signs and debris strewn across the streets.
A light rain and breeze still lingered as residents worked to clean up the damage, but the authorities have reported no storm-related fatalities.
On Hailing – an island administered by Yangjiang – relief workers attempted to clear a huge tree that had fallen across a wide road.
Cars drove on muddy tracks to get around the wreckage as the team worked to saw off branches.
A seafood restaurant sustained heavy damage, its back roof completely collapsed or in parts flown away entirely.
“The winds were so strong, you can see it completely ripped everything apart,” restaurant worker Lin Xiaobing said.
“There’s no electricity (at home),” the 50-year-old said while helping to clear up the mess inside the restaurant, where the floors were covered in water, mud and debris. “Today, some homes still have electricity and others don’t.”
The island is a popular holiday spot, and many locals rely on the tourism industry to make a living.
“We can’t do business here during the national day,” she said, referring to China’s annual holiday period centred on Oct 1 and lasting until Oct 8.
At another village on the east side of the island, Mr Zeng Jitan was working to get his open-air restaurant operational.
“I was inside (when the typhoon came), I didn’t dare go out,” the 64-year-old told AFP outside the restaurant, which had suffered damage despite the structure still being intact.
“The storm was very powerful,” he said. “I was afraid everything would blow down.”
Taiwan fatalities
Ragasa’s passage in Taiwan killed at least 14 and injured dozens more
A total of 22 people were still missing as at the afternoon of Sept 25, the authorities said.
The storm made landfall in mainland China near Hailing island on the evening of Sept 24.
By that point, the authorities in China had already ordered businesses and schools to shut down in at least 10 cities across the nation’s south, affecting tens of millions of people.
Nearly 2.2 million people in Guangdong were relocated by the afternoon of Sept 24, but local officials later said several cities in the province had started lifting restrictions on schools and businesses.
Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television said Typhoon Ragasa made its second landfall in Beihai, Guangxi, on the morning of Sept 25 as a tropical storm.
Chinese authorities earmarked the equivalent of about US$49.2 million (S$63.4 million) to support rescue and relief work in regions hit by Typhoon Ragasa, Xinhua news agency said.
Hong Kong battered
Hong Kong authorities said 101 people were treated at public hospitals for injuries sustained during the typhoon as at the evening of Sept 24, with more than 900 people seeking refuge at 50 temporary shelters across the city.
The Chinese finance hub recorded hundreds of fallen trees and flooding in multiple neighbourhoods.
Many of the city’s tall buildings swayed and rattled in the harsh winds.
About 1,000 flights were affected by Typhoon Ragasa
The top typhoon warning was downgraded in Hong Kong on the afternoon of Sept 24 after being in force for 10 hours and 40 minutes – the second-longest on record in the city.
Hong Kong’s weather service ranked the storm the strongest yet in the north-western Pacific in 2025. AFP
