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14 people dead in Taiwan, 129 missing after lake overflows

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Roads, beaches, hotel flooded in Hong Kong

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Hundreds of south China flights cancelled, shelters opened

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Ragasa expected to target China's Guangdong Province next

By Jessie Pang and David Kirton

HONG KONG/SHENZHEN, China, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Typhoon

Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year,

barreled towards tens of millions of people in southern China on

Wednesday after killing 14 people in Taiwan, leaving scores

missing and lashing Hong Kong with ferocious winds and heavy

rains.

Some 129 people are missing in Taiwan's eastern Hualien

county, after a barrier lake overflowed and sent a wall of water

into a town, the Taiwan fire department said on Wednesday, with

Ragasa's outer rim having drenched the island since Monday.

Many residents in the tourist town of Guangfu complained

there was insufficient warning from Taiwan authorities, who

are used to moving people out of potential danger zones swiftly

on the island which is frequently hit by typhoons.

As rains inundated Taiwan, Hong Kong grappled with huge

waves that crashed over areas of the Asian financial hub's

eastern and southern shoreline, breaking into white-water

streams as they rushed along pavements and submerged some roads

alongside residential properties.

At the Fullerton hotel on the island's south, videos on

social media showed a torrent of seawater surging through its

glass doors before flooding the floor area. Calls to the

property remained unanswered on Wednesday.

China's marine authority issued its highest "red" wave

warning for the first time this year, forecasting storm surges

of up to 2.8 metres (9 feet) in parts of Guangdong province, as

Ragasa charges towards the densely populated Pearl River Delta.

Ragasa formed over the Western Pacific last week. Fuelled by

warm seas and favourable atmospheric conditions, the tropical

cyclone rapidly intensified to become a Category 5 super typhoon

on Monday with winds exceeding 260 kph (162 mph).

It has since weakened to a Category 3 typhoon, which is

still capable of bringing down trees and power lines, shattering

windows and damaging buildings.

"Authorities have taken lessons from Hato and Mangkhut,

which both caused billions of dollars in damage in 2017 and

2018," said Chim Lee, a senior energy and climate change

specialist at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

"The Pearl River Delta is one of the best-prepared regions

for typhoons, so we're not expecting major disruptions. One

change this year is that the Hong Kong stock market has stayed

open during typhoons - a sign of how resilient the

infrastructure has become," he added.

That said, Zijin Gold International delayed its

$3.2 billion IPO in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

CHINA BRACES FOR LANDFALL

After passing around 100 km (60 miles) south of Hong Kong

over the next few hours, Ragasa is expected to make landfall

along the south Chinese coast in the late afternoon.

Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan, the largest cities

in the storm's path, are home to around 50 million people.

The emergency management ministry dispatched tens of

thousands of tents, folding beds, emergency lighting equipment

and other rescue supplies to Guangdong on Tuesday, Chinese state

media reported, while over 770,000 people have been evacuated.

Some shops and restaurants in the province parked large

rented trucks in front of their storefronts in a bid to shield

them from the storm, local media reported.

"We live on an upper floor and saw there wasn't too much

danger, so I brought the kids out to experience this heavy rain

and wind," a 40-year-old Shenzhen resident surnamed Liang said.

"We walked along the open road to make sure to stay safe."

A crowd chasing the storm under Shenzhen Bay Bridge were

moved on by traffic police, a Reuters witness observed.

"The typhoon was really intense, but I've not been out

long," said an electric scooter delivery driver who goes by the

name of Tim and was using his vehicle to move around and assess

the damage.

"It's a lot of fun, but it's also dangerous. I wanted to

ride around the waterfront, but it's too dangerous, so I had to

come back onto the bridge."

China's marine authority warned of a high risk of flooding

in Shenzhen, especially in low-lying areas, with a storm surge

alert expected to remain in effect until Thursday.

A woman and her five-year-old son were swept into the ocean

on Tuesday after watching the typhoon from the Hong Kong

waterfront, according to the South China Morning Post, which

said they were now in intensive care.

Hong Kong lowered its typhoon signal to 8 from 10 just after

1 pm (0500 GMT) on Wednesday, keeping the city locked down.

The hospital authority said at least 50 people had been

injured by the typhoon, while the government had opened 50

temporary shelters, within which 791 sought refuge.

In the gambling hub of Macau next to Hong Kong, casinos were

forced to shutter their gambling areas. Guests are not able to

leave their property if they are staying there. One user on

China's Xiaohongshu app showed videos of doors being sealed at a

casino resort for protection against gales and debris.