Super Typhoon Ragasa, the strongest storm of 2025, is battering the Philippines with 162 mph winds, mass evacuations, and storm surge warnings.

East Asia is bracing for the most powerful global typhoon so far this year to make landfall with mass evacuations across multiple countries.

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year, lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday as the city shut down and more than 700 flights were cancelled.

Thousands of people were evacuated from northern Philippine villages and schools and offices were closed Monday in the archipelago and neighboring Taiwan as one of this year's strongest typhoons threatened to cause flooding and landslides on its way to southeastern China.

A supertyphoon, which made landfall in the northern Philippines, cutting power and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents, was headed toward China.