Typhoon Ragasa has recently impacted many regions of Southeast Asia. Most notably the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China.
A typhoon is the Western Pacific name for a hurricane. The Western Pacific is known for its strong typhoons it regularly gets. Around 20 typhoons form each year, and most of these typhoons impact countries such as the Philippines and Taiwan.
Typhoon Ragasa first became a tropical storm on September 18th and quickly strengthened to a typhoon. By September 20th, Ragasa became a Super Typhoon, which is the equivalent of a Category 5 Hurricane in the Atlantic.
Ragasa reached its peak at 165mph, just passing in between the Philippines and Taiwan. Although it never directly made landfall, it still impacted the two areas. It led to massive damage in the region causing at least 20 confirmed deaths. At least 17 of these deaths were confirmed in Taiwan due to a barrier collapsing, sending huge waves into multiple towns and destroying a major bridge and homes. Many are still unaccounted for in both regions.
On September 24th it made landfall in China, impacting Hong Kong and Macau. It brought heavy winds and rainfall to the area causing millions to evacuate. Although it is currently weakening, it still is bringing heavy rain and flooding to the regions.
Typhoon Ragasa is expected to be one of the costliest and most destructive typhoons in recent years, comparable to Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018. Ragasa is currently in north Vietnam categorized as a Tropical Depression.
Meanwhile, in the Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center is watching two storms. Tropical Storm Humberto is currently headed towards the west of Bermuda. It is expected to become a Category 2 Hurricane at its peak. As of now, no direct impacts from Humberto are expected except dangerous rip currents along the East Coast.
The second storm is Invest 94, likely to form into a tropical storm within the next three days. The path has this storm going towards the East Coast, so it is a storm the United States is closely watching. The next name on the list is Imelda, followed by Jerry.
