Super Typhoon Ragasa is maintaining its strength as it approaches Hong Kong, after leaving at least three people dead while sweeping across northern parts of the Philippines.
Authorities in Hong Kong have raised the city’s third-highest typhoon alert this September 23 and grounded more than 700 flights, warning of “severe disruption” expected from 6 pm local time onward. In Hong Kong and Macau, schools closed and grocery stores were crowded, while the nearby Chinese city of Shenzhen ordered 400,000 residents to evacuate.
According to the Philippine weather agency Pagasa, Ragasa is the strongest storm recorded anywhere in the world so far this year, with sustained winds reaching 185 km/h (115 mph) and gusts up to 230 km/h (143 mph).
With storms like these, you truly cannot be too careful. Discover the most lethal and destructive tropical storms in history in the following gallery.