Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Typhoon Ragasa intensified into the season's first super typhoon at 11 a.m. Sunday, just hours after the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued a sea warning for the storm.
The storm had sustained winds near its center reaching 190.8 kilometers per hour and a storm radius of 300 km, making it the most powerful storm of 2025 to affect Taiwan this year to date, and because it remained structurally sound it could strengthen further, the CWA said.
As of 2 p.m. Typhoon Ragasa's center was located about 680 km east-southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, moving west-northwest at a speed of 19 kilometers per hour, according to the CWA.
It was packing maximum sustained winds of 191 khp and gusts of up to 234 kph, according to the CWA.
At a news briefing, CWA senior specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said Ragasa's winds could intensify to 208.8 kph and its storm radius may expand.
At present, the storm is projected to travel west through the Bashi Channel and hit the southern Chinese coast southwest of Macau.
It will likely have the greatest impact on Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday, with the storm circle forecast to reach the Hengchun Peninsula on Monday afternoon.
A land warning for Taitung and Pingtung counties in southern Taiwan could be issued as early as Monday.
The CWA also reported that another super typhoon, Neoguri, was active in the northwest Pacific on Sunday morning, located about 3,110 km northeast of Taipei and well to the east of Japan.
Neoguri was moving northwest to north, packing sustained winds of 184 kph and gusts of up to 227 kph.
Historical data show that Typhoon Hinnamnor in September 2022 was the last storm to strike Taiwan with winds of 198 kph and a storm radius of 300 km. Typhoon Kong-rey in 2024 generated slightly weaker winds of 190.8 kph but with a broader 320 km radius.
By contrast, Typhoon Krathon in 2024 reached 198 kph with a smaller 220 km radius, while Typhoon Chanthu in 2021 hit 208 kph but spanned only 200 km.
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