Typhoon Ragasa, a giant storm that formed this week over the Pacific Ocean, has lashed island nations across Eastern Asia while barreling toward China. At least 17 people were killed in Taiwan and 10 in the Philippines by the storm. Almost 2 million people were evacuated from southern China ahead of Wednesday’s landfall. First responders are still searching for 17 missing people in Taiwan. A barrier lake there became so swollen with rain from the storm that it burst over its banks. Nearby Guangfu township was flooded. The flood waters destroyed roads and bridges into the area. In the Philippines, seven fishermen died after their boat was capsized by Ragasa’s winds. At times, its winds peaked at over 165 miles per hour (mph). That makes it the strongest storm to strike in the Pacific this year. The storm has been labeled a “super typhoon” because of those wind speeds. It weakened as it struck China, but it still carried driving rains and gusting winds up to 92 mph as of Wednesday afternoon. Earlier, it raked Hong Kong as the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane (sustained winds up to 120 mph). As many as 20 people were injured there. Storm surges, or waves churned up by the storm, swept across entire neighborhoods. Restaurant owner Anna Cholewka watched in horror as her bistro was washed away. “I cried,” Cholewka told The New York Times. “We put a lot of thought into this place to serve the food that we love to this community. It’s just gone now. It hurts.” Ragasa is expected to batter southern China through Thursday before reaching Vietnam Friday morning. Thought Question: What helps you keep going when you face something really hard?
