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Super Typhoon Ragasa Today LIVE News Updates: After causing immense destruction in Taiwan and Philippines over the past two days, super typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest in years, is set to make landfall between the Chinese cities of Taishan and Zhanjiang between Wednesday afternoon and evening, news agency AP reported, quoting the national weather agency.
Death toll: Fourteen people have died so far in Taiwan’s popular tourist hub in the eastern county of Hualien, with 124 missing after a barrier lake in the mountains overflowed to deluge a town during the super typhoon Ragasa, news agency Reuters reported quoting the fire department on Wednesday. As per the report, regions across Taiwan have dispatched rescue teams to Hualien, with the military sending 340 troops to help.
Strong winds blew away parts of a pedestrian bridge’s roof and knocked down trees across Hong Kong, with about 13 injured people being treated at hospitals, AP report stated. One was injured in Macao. Hong Kong has issued the typhoon signal 10, its highest warning, urging businesses and transport services to shut down.
Authorities also issued the Amber rainstorm signal, as heavy rain was expected to continue, with some streets already partially flooded, according to the South China Morning Post. They have also warned of rising sea levels. Schools and flights remained cancelled, with shops closed in Hong Kong and Macao.
Super Typhoon Ragasa LIVE Updates: Taiwan premier calls for probe of floods after Super Typhoon Ragasa killed 14 Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai called on Wednesday for an inquiry into what went wrong with evacuation orders in an eastern county where flooding from a breached mountain lake during the super typhoon Ragasa killed 14.
The report noted that sub-tropical Taiwan, which is frequently hit by typhoons, normally has a “well-oiled disaster mechanism that averts mass casualties by moving people out of potential danger zones quickly.”
But many residents in Guangfu township in Hualien County, usually thronged by tourists, said there was “insufficient warning” when the barrier lake overflowed on Tuesday. Who said the immediate priority was to find the 129 still missing, but questions remained. “For the 14 who have tragically passed away, we must investigate why evacuation orders were not carried out in the designated areas,” he told reporters in Guangfu.
Fire officials said all the dead and missing were in Guangfu township, in Hualien County, where the waters swept away a major road bridge across a river. Wang Tse-an, the village chief, said his entire village of Dama, home to about 1,000 people in the township, had been flooded and many were still stranded.
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