Hurricane-force winds, huge seas and heavy rains are battering Hong Kong as Super Typhoon Ragasa barrels towards the city after leaving 14 dead in Taiwan.

A barrier lake in Taiwan’s eastern Hualien county overflowed and sent a wall of water into a town, as heavy rains from the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year battered the island, the Taiwan fire department said on Wednesday.

Since Monday, Taiwan has been hit by the outer rim of Ragasa, which has brought torrential rains to the island.

In Hong Kong, roads were deserted as authorities instructed people to stay indoors and surging waves crashed over parts of the Asian financial hub’s eastern and southern shoreline.

“Areas which were previously sheltered may become exposed … seas will be phenomenal with swells,” the observatory said.

Ragasa, packing winds of up to 200kmh, will be closest to the city in the next few hours, around 100km south of the densely populated territory.

It is expected to maintain super typhoon intensity as it moves toward the coast of China’s Guangdong province, home to more than 125 million people, where it is expected to make landfall from midday to late on Wednesday.

Ragasa swept through the northern Philippines on Monday and Taiwan on Tuesday.

Rain and wind in between apartment buildings in Kaohsiung during #Typhoon #Krathon #山陀兒. pic.twitter.com/PXbW3YeadQ

— Foreigners in Taiwan 🇹🇼 外國人在台灣 (@foreignersinTW) October 3, 2024

The typhoon sparked panic buying this week in Hong Kong, with people crowding into supermarkets, leaving little on the shelves and in some cases queuing for hours to purchase goods amid fears that shops could be closed for two days.

As the typhoon approached, residents taped their windows in the hope of reducing the risk of injury from shattered glass.

Hong Kong issued the typhoon signal 10, its highest warning, early on Wednesday, which urges businesses and transport services to shut down.

Authorities also issued the Amber rainstorm signal, as heavy rain was expected to continue, with some streets already partially flooded, according to the South China Morning Post.

Authorities have warned of rising sea levels, saying they could be similar to those seen during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, both of which caused billions of dollars in damage.

“The water level will reach the maximum around noon (2pm AEST),” generally to around four metres,” the observatory said.

A woman and her five-year-old son were swept into the ocean on Tuesday after watching the typhoon from the waterfront, according to the SCMP, which said they were now in intensive care after being rescued.

The government said it had opened 49 temporary shelters in various districts and 727 people have sought refuge at the shelters.

Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange will remain open. It changed its policy late last year to continue trading whatever the weather.

Guangdong authorities have evacuated over 770,000 people, state broadcaster CCTV said.

In the gambling hub of Macau next to Hong Kong, authorities also issued the No. 10 warning signal early on Wednesday.