CHINA - China has evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and ordered at least 10 cities to close schools and some businesses as the strongest storm of the year bears down on its southern coast.
Hong Kong has upgraded its typhoon warning to eight - just two levels below the maximum - ahead of the arrival of Super Typhoon Ragasa. The storm is expected to make landfall in China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, where some 370,000 people have been evacuated so far, as authorities warn of a "catastrophic" situation. Ragasa has been dubbed the "King of Storms" by China's meteorological agency and is expected to move towards northern Vietnam in the coming days, potentially affecting millions. On Tuesday, supermarket shelves in Hong Kong were wiped empty of fresh bread, vegetables, meat and instant noodles as residents prepared to hunker down. Hong Kong International Airport said it expected "significant disruption to flight operations" from 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday until the next day. (BBC)
