No 10 signal in force for nearly 11 hours, with fierce winds and waves causing widespread damage
Super Typhoon Ragasa wreaked havoc across Hong Kong on Wednesday, with strong waves shattering the glass doors of an Ocean Park hotel and violent winds blowing a barge ashore and tearing air-conditioning units from homes.
Dubbed the “king of storms” by mainland Chinese weather authorities, Ragasa maintained winds of 220km/h (137mph) near its centre when the No 8 warning signal was issued on Tuesday afternoon.
The signal was raised to No 9 and then to No 10 early on Wednesday, when it was closest to Hong Kong at a distance of about 120km (74.5 miles) south of the city.
After remaining in force for nearly 11 hours, the weather forecaster downgraded the No 10 warning signal to No 8 at 1.20pm on Wednesday. The No 8 signal was downgraded to No 3 at 8.20pm.
