September 25, 2025 – Beijing, China
As the sun rose over the storm-battered coastline of southern China on Thursday, the full extent of Super Typhoon Ragasa's wrath came into sharp focus. The most powerful tropical cyclone of the year barreled into Guangdong Province late Wednesday, unleashing howling winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph), torrential rains, and devastating floods that have left communities reeling. With more than one million people evacuated and at least 17 lives lost across the region—including 14 in neighboring Taiwan—Ragasa has quickly become the dominant story dominating headlines and social media feeds worldwide.
The typhoon, which first made landfall in the Philippines on Monday before intensifying over the South China Sea, struck the city of Yangjiang in Guangdong with ferocious force around midnight local time. Eyewitness accounts describe streets transformed into raging rivers, with waves crashing against sea walls and debris flying like shrapnel through the air. In Shenzhen and Guangzhou—two of China's economic powerhouses—authorities shuttered schools, grounded thousands of flights at Hong Kong International Airport, and halted public transport as precautionary measures. Videos circulating on platforms like Weibo and X (formerly Twitter) show residents wading through waist-deep water, while others capture surreal scenes of locals netting fish in flooded urban streets, dubbing it an impromptu "seafood buffet" amid the chaos.
"This is unlike anything we've seen this year," said meteorologist Li Wei from the China Meteorological Administration in a press briefing early Thursday. "Ragasa's rapid intensification caught many off guard, but our early warning systems allowed for these massive evacuations, potentially saving countless lives." State media reported that over 1.2 million residents in Guangdong alone were relocated to safer ground, with temporary shelters set up in schools and community centers. The storm's eye passed directly over densely populated areas, triggering landslides in hilly regions and overwhelming drainage systems in low-lying coastal zones.
The human toll extends beyond China's borders. In Taiwan, where Ragasa made an earlier landfall on Tuesday, emergency services continue searching for 124 missing individuals after floods collapsed a major bridge in Hualien County and buried cars under mudslides. Hong Kong and Macau, lashed by the typhoon's outer bands, reported minor injuries and widespread power outages, but their robust infrastructure mitigated the worst. As the storm weakens into a severe tropical storm while pushing inland toward Vietnam, forecasters warn of prolonged heavy rains that could exacerbate flooding across Guangxi and Yunnan provinces through the weekend.
Social media has amplified the disaster's immediacy, with hashtags like #TyphoonRagasa and #ChinaStorm surging to the top of trending lists on Weibo and X. Users shared harrowing footage of uprooted trees slamming into buildings and fishing boats tossed like toys in the harbor. One viral clip from Yangjiang shows a delivery worker battling gale-force winds to secure restaurant windows, his umbrella inverting in the onslaught—a poignant symbol of everyday resilience in the face of nature's fury. "From typhoon prep to seafood harvest—only in China," quipped one netizen, blending dark humor with the unyielding spirit of the affected communities.
Government response has been swift and coordinated. President Xi Jinping issued directives for "all-out efforts" in disaster relief, deploying thousands of People's Liberation Army troops to aid in cleanup and distribution of supplies. The Ministry of Emergency Management has allocated emergency funds exceeding 500 million yuan ($70 million) for immediate reconstruction, focusing on restoring power to over 200,000 households still in the dark. International aid offers have poured in, with the Red Cross and ASEAN partners pledging support, underscoring China's growing role in regional disaster diplomacy.
Yet, as cleanup begins, questions linger about the storm's broader implications. Climate experts point to Ragasa as a stark reminder of intensifying typhoon seasons in the western Pacific, linked to warming ocean temperatures. "These super typhoons are becoming the new normal," noted Dr. Chen Mei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "Guangdong's vulnerability highlights the urgent need for upgraded coastal defenses and sustainable urban planning."
For now, the people of southern China are left to pick up the pieces. In the fishing village of Haikou, where waves demolished seawalls, locals like 62-year-old fisherman Zhang Lao gathered what remained of their nets at dawn. "The sea gives and takes," he told reporters, his voice steady despite the loss. "We'll rebuild—stronger, as always."
As Ragasa fades into the history books, its legacy is one of destruction tempered by human endurance. Stay tuned for updates as recovery efforts unfold, and our thoughts remain with those rebuilding their lives in the storm's wake.
Super Typhoon Ragasa Ravages Southern China: Over a Million Evacuated Amid Floods and Fury