Super Typhoon Ragasa kills 14 in Taiwan, 124 missing

At least 14 people have been killed in Taiwan after Super Typhoon Ragasa, which originated in the South China Sea, hit the city. At least 14 more were injured and at least 124 are still missing. Ragasa is now moving towards China's southern coast and Asia's financial center Hong Kong.

Ragasa hit the coast of Hualien on Tuesday. The damage was also most severe in this district, confirmed Lee Kuan-tin, the administrative officer of Taiwan's eastern Hualien district. AFP and Reuters reported.

Lee Kuan-ting said, "According to the latest information from our fire service rescue team, 14 people have been killed and 18 injured in Hualien so far due to the storm. In addition, at least 124 people are still missing. Rescue efforts are underway to find them."

According to the report, the news agency Reuters said that under the influence of Ragasa, there were widespread storms and heavy rains over Taiwan and Hong Kong, another autonomous island territory on the coast of the South China Sea. However, there were no reports of deaths, injuries or missing people in any other district of Taiwan or Hong Kong except Hualien.

Typhoon Ragasa, which originated from a depression in the South China Sea, has been called a super typhoon by scientists in the Philippines, China and Taiwan due to its immense strength and destructive power. When Ragasa hit the Philippine coast at around 3 pm local time on Monday, the wind speed there was 230 kilometers per hour.

Ragasa hit the coast of Batanes Island in the northern Philippine province of Cagayan. This island is close to the eastern coast of Taiwan.

Firefighter Wang Se-an said the dead and missing were all in Guangfu, where a major road bridge over the river was swept away by the floodwaters. His entire village, home to about 1,000 people, was flooded and many were still trapped.