Hong Kong International Airport is reportedly preparing to suspend all passenger flights for the next 36 hours as Super Typhoon Ragasa barrels towards the Philippines and later southern China.
It would be the longest suspension of flights ever carried out at Hong Kong’s airport, and is likely to begin at 6pm local time on Tuesday and end at 6am on Thursday, according to reports.
In the Philippines, thousands of people have been evacuated with the “catastrophic” storm set to make landfall on its northern islands on Monday. The storm, one of the strongest super typhoons in years, is likely to hit with wind gusts reaching 230km/h (143mph).
The Philippine weather bureau has warned of a “high risk of life-threatening storm surge” with waves exceeding three metres (10ft).
Schools and government offices, including in the capital Manila, have been closed. Officials caution that Ragasa could trigger widespread flooding, landslides, and major damage to homes and infrastructure across affected regions.
Ragasa, locally called Nando, is reaching the Philippines at a time when the country is still reeling from weeks of heavy monsoon flooding.
Hong Kong and Philippines brace for Super Typhoon Ragasa
Hong Kong International Airport is preparing to suspend all passenger flights for 36 hours, the longest shutdown of its kind ever, as Super Typhoon Ragasa approaches the city.
Flights could be halted from 6pm on Tuesday to 6am on Thursday, sources familiar with the plans told Bloomberg.
Tens of thousands of people were being evacuated in the Philippines and Taiwan as the season’s first super typhoon bore down on the region with destructive winds and torrential rainfall.
Forecasters said Ragasa, known locally as Typhoon Nando, had undergone “explosive strengthening” over the Philippine Sea and was threatening to become one of the strongest storms to hit Asia this year.
At around 11am local time, the Philippine weather agency Pagasa reported maximum sustained winds of 185kmph and gusts of up to 230kmph, warning of “life-threatening flooding, landslides and storm surges” across northern Luzon.
Interior secretary Jonvic Remulla said officials “must waste no time in moving families out of danger zones”, adding that pre-emptive evacuations had begun in flood-prone communities in Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos and Batanes provinces.
Shweta Sharma22 September 2025 05:37
