Super Typhoon Ragasa: over 10,000 evacuated in Philippines

The typhoon, which is gaining strength as it proceeds to southern China, is expected to make landfall over the country’s far north

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Strong waves batter Basco, Batanes province, northern Philippines, as Typhoon Ragasa affects the area on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 1:48pm, 22 Sep 2025Updated: 10:46am, 23 Sep 2025

More than 10,000 people sheltered in schools and evacuation centres in the Philippines on Monday as heavy rains and gale-force winds from Super Typhoon Ragasa lashed the country’s far north.

The typhoon, which is gaining strength as it proceeds on a collision course with southern China, is expected to make landfall over the Philippines’ Babuyan Island.

The sparsely populated islands lie about 740km (460 miles) south of Taiwan, where smaller-scale evacuations were also under way.

As of 11.00am, maximum sustained winds of 215 km/h (134 mph) were reported at the storm’s centre, with gusts reaching up to 265 km/h (165 mph) as it moved westward towards the Babuyans, the national weather service said.

“I woke up because of the strong wind. It was hitting the windows, and it sounded like a machine that was switched on,” said Tirso Tugagao, a resident of Aparri, a coastal town in northern Cagayan province.

“I’m seeing from my house here that the high waves are crashing onto the shore,” the 45-year-old teacher said. “I pray everyone will be safe.”

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