Wind intensifies as Ragasa edging closer, no significant flooding

At 8 a.m., Super Typhoon Ragasa continued to approach, intensifying the wind and bringing heavy rainfall.
According to the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), the typhoon was estimated to be about 110km South-southeast of Macau. It was forecast to continue moving West-northwest at around 20km/h, gradually edging closer to Macau.

SMG said it will come closest to Macau in the next few hours and is expected to pass within 100 km of Macau. Under the influence of Ragasa’s core circulation, gales, heavy rain, and thunderstorms will occur. The wind will reach hurricane-level force 12 or above in the next few hours. Therefore, the weather bureau noted that Tropical Cyclone Signal No.10 will be in effect for a time.

The Civil Protection Operations Centre (COPC) updated its report on 23 incidents, most related to fallen objects, signage, trees, scaffolding, or other construction site materials.

The COPC also announced that one person was injured in relation to the typhoon in an incident that occurred late Tuesday (Sept. 23).

According to the Public Security Police Force (PSP), one of the incidents reported was related to the fall of a large red kapok tree that used to be at the intersection between the Avenida de Sidónio Pais and the Rua de Silva Mendes and Rua de António Basto. The tree fell to the typhoon winds in the early hours of this morning, leading the COPC forces to execute an emergency operation to clear the Avenida de Sidónio Pais, which had traffic interrupted due to a roadblock.

As of 8 a.m., 633 people had been attended to at the emergency shelters, with 579 remaining under the care of the Social Welfare Bureau. The majority of these people were lodged in the shelters after being evacuated from their homes due to flooding risk.

SMG also continues to issue a Red Storm surge warning, which has been in force since 6 p.m. on Tuesday, anticipating significant flooding in the low-lying areas. Despite this and the heavy rainfall in the early hours of today, no significant flood has been recorded until this time.

At 8:45 a.m., only two locations in the Peninsula and Islands recorded floodwater: 8 centimeters in the Inner Harbour and 3 centimeters at Caminho das Hortas in Taipa.