Hong Kong (CNN) — Nearly 2 million people in southern China have been evacuated as a powerful typhoon hurtles into one of the world’s most densely populated coasts, having already unleashed deadly flooding in Taiwan.

Typhoon Ragasa, which a few days ago was the strongest storm on earth so far this year,brought finance hub Hong Kong and swathes of southern China to a standstill on Wednesday, after barreling through remote islands in the Philippines and mountainous regions of Taiwan.

Packing hurricane-force winds, the storm has left a trail of damage, triggering landslides, flooding and huge waves, and is now bearing down on China’s Guangdong province, where massive cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou are located.

In Taiwan, at least 17people are dead and rescuers were scrambling to lo

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