Cities along China's southern coast are scaling back daily life with school and business closures as they brace for one of the most powerful typhoons in years

Southern Chinese cities scaled back many aspects of daily life on Tuesday with school and business closures and flight cancellations as the region braced for one of the strongest typhoons in years that has already killed three people and led to the displacement of thousands of others in the Philippines .

Hong Kong ' s observatory said Super Typhoon Ragasa, which was packing maximum sustained winds near the center of about 143 mph (230 kph), is expected to move west-northwest at about 14 mph (22 kph) across the northern part of the South China Sea and edge closer to the coast of Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse.

Chinas National Meteorological Center forecast the typhoon would make landfall in the coastal area between Shenzhen city and Xuwen county in Guangdong province on Wednesday.

Already hoisting a strong wind signal, the observatory in Hong Kong will issue storm warning signal No. 8, the third-highest in the citys weather alert system, on Tuesday afternoon and will assess the necessity of upgrading the signal on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

The city categorizes tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds near the center of 185 kph (115 mph) or above as super typhoons to make residents extra vigilant about the approach of more intense storms.

The water level is forecast to rise about 2 meters (6.5 feet) over coastal areas in the Asian financial hub on Wednesday morning, and the maximum water level in some areas could hit 4 to 5 meters (13.1 to 16.4 feet) above the typical lowest sea level.

The government said the water levels could be similar to those recorded during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 estimated to have caused the city direct economic losses worth over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($154 million) and 4.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $590 million), respectively.

Residents living in flood-prone areas have already put sandbags and barriers at their doors, while others have put tape on windows and glass doors to brace for strong winds. Many people stockpiled food and daily supplies on Monday, as some market vendors reported that their goods were selling out fast.

Schools were closed in Hong Kong and the neighboring city of Macao. Other cities such as the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen and Foshan in Guangdong province and Haikou in Hainan province ordered class cancellations and a gradual suspension of other businesses and transportation.

Hundreds of flights were canceled in Hong Kong. Shenzhen airport will halt all flights from Tuesday night. The Macao government activated its emergency response mechanism as it expected Ragasa would pass within 62 miles (100 kilometers) to the south of the casino hub on Wednesday morning.

In the Philippines, Ragasa left at least three people dead and five others missing and displaced more than 17,500 people in flooding and landslides set off by the most powerful storm to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago this year, the countrys disaster-response agency and provincial officials said.

The dead included a 74-year-old man, who died while being brought to a hospital after being pinned in one of four vehicles that were partly buried by mud, rocks and trees that cascaded down a mountainside onto a narrow road on Monday in the mountain town of Tuba in Benguet province, officials said.

Two other villagers died in the storm, including a resident in Calayan town, a cluster of islands off northern Cagayan province where the super typhoon made landfall on Monday, officials said without providing details.

Ragasa, Tagalog for scramble, prompted the Philippine government on Monday to close schools and government offices in the densely populated capital region and 29 northern provinces. Fishing boats and ferries were prohibited from venturing into very rough seas and domestic flights were cancelled.

____

Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.

为应对多年来最强台风之一，中国南部沿海城市正通过停课停业等措施缩减日常活动规模

周二，中国南方城市为应对多年来最强台风之一，大幅缩减了日常生活的诸多方面，包括停课、停业和取消航班。这场台风已在菲律宾造成三人死亡，并导致数千人流离失所。

香港天文台表示，超强台风**拉加萨**中心附近最大持续风速约为每小时143英里（230公里），预计将以每小时14英里（22公里）的速度向西北偏西方向移动，横穿南海北部海域，并逐渐逼近中国南方经济大省广东的海岸线。

中国国家气象中心预测，台风将于周三在广东省深圳市和徐闻县之间的沿海地区登陆。

香港天文台已悬挂强风信号，并计划于周二下午发布八号风暴警告信号（该信号在该市天气预警系统中位列第三高级别）。天文台将于周二晚间或周三凌晨评估是否需进一步提升预警级别。

该市将中心附近最大持续风速达每小时185公里（115英里）及以上的热带气旋归类为超强台风，以使居民对更强烈风暴的来临保持高度警惕。

据预测，周三早晨亚洲金融中心沿海地区水位将上涨约2米（6.5英尺），部分区域最高水位可能达到比典型最低海平面高出4至5米（13.1至16.4英尺）。

政府表示，此次水位可能与2017年台风“天鸽”和2018年台风“山竹”期间记录的水位相当。据估算，这两场台风分别给香港造成直接经济损失超过10亿港元（约合1.54亿美元）及46亿港元（约合5.9亿美元）。

居住在易涝地区的居民已在门前堆放了沙袋和挡板，其他人则在窗户和玻璃门上贴胶带以抵御强风。本周一，许多人囤积了食品和日用品，部分市场摊贩表示商品正快速售罄。

香港及邻近的澳门特别行政区宣布停课。深圳、广东佛山及海南海口等城市也要求暂停线下教学，并逐步停止非必要商业活动与公共交通运营。

香港数百架次航班被迫取消。深圳机场将于周二晚间起暂停所有航班起降。澳门政府已启动应急响应机制，预计台风"雷格萨"将于周三早晨在距该博彩中心以南62英里（100公里）范围内过境。

菲律宾灾害应对机构和省级官员表示，今年袭击东南亚群岛的最强风暴“拉加萨”引发洪水和山体滑坡，已造成至少3人死亡、5人失踪，并导致超过1.75万人流离失所。

据官员称，遇难者中包括一名74岁男子。周一，在本格特省山区小镇图巴，山体滑坡导致泥石流和树木从山坡倾泻而下，掩埋了狭窄道路上的四辆汽车，该男子被困其中。在被送往医院途中，他不幸身亡。

官员称，另有两位村民在风暴中遇难，其中包括卡加延省北部离岛群——卡拉延镇的一名居民。这场超强台风于周一在此登陆，但官员未透露具体细节。

菲律宾政府周一因台风“拉加萨”（他加禄语意为“混乱”）关闭了人口稠密的首都地区及北部29个省份的学校和政府机构，同时禁止渔船和渡轮在汹涌海域航行，并取消了国内航班。

菲律宾马尼拉的吉姆·戈麦斯（Jim Gomez）对本报道亦有贡献。