A man stands near debris on a waterfront road amid heavy rain due to Super Typhoon Ragasa in Aparri town, Cagayan province on September 22, 2025. John Dimain/AFP/Getty Images

The strongest storm anywhere in the world this year is passing over the northern Philippines with destructive winds and torrential rain, prompting evacuations of thousands of people and preparations in nearby Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China.

After undergoing rapid intensification over the Philippine Sea, Ragasa – known in the Philippines as Nando – was a large and powerful super typhoon, packing sustained winds of over 267 kph (165 mph), the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.

Tens of millions of people could be impacted by the storm, expected to make landfall in or pass close to Batanes and the Babuyan Is

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