HONG KONG (Reuters) -Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year, lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday as the city shut down and more than 700 flights were cancelled.

Super typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 - to date the most intense typhoon to strike the city - injured 200 people, sank ships and wrecked infrastructure, with the weather agency estimating economic losses of HK$4.6bn ($592m: £438m).

Schools and businesses across southern China have closed and flights have been canceled as the region braces for Super Typhoon Ragasa

A dam breach in eastern Taiwan sent river water rushing through streets Tuesday, destroying the Matai’an river bridge and forcing thousands to flee their homes after Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded the island.

Ragasa is forecast to remain at super-typhoon intensity with maximum winds of 202–220 km per hour on Tuesday, before entering a rapid weakening phase on Wednesday and Thursday.

Super Typhoon Ragasa is causing major flight disruptions across Asia as it churns in the South China Sea, with Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific saying on Tuesday that more than 500 flights were being cancelled.

Ragasa had sustained winds of 134 miles per hour and gusts of up 165 mph as it headed west at 12 mph and the weather agency warned of a "high risk of life-threatening storm surge" of more than 3 meters (around 10 feet.)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered the Philippines disaster response agency to go on full alert and mobilise all government agencies as Super Typhoon Ragasa threatened the north of the country and set off storm alerts across East and Southeast Asia.