Strongest Storm of 2025 Roars through Southeast Asia, Region Braces for More Impacts

Super Typhoon Ragasa made landfall in the northern Philippines on Monday, bringing rain, storm surge, and landslides.

Weather agencies recorded the storm reaching sustained wind speeds of 165 miles per hour, equivalent to a Category Five hurricane, making it the most powerful storm in the world so far in 2025.

Thousands of people in the Philippines were evacuated due to the storm, and the country's weather agency warned that storm surge could exceed 10 feet, with low-lying areas particularly vulnerable.

Schools and government offices were closed in 29 regions of Luzon, the country's largest and most populous island, which sits just south of the storm's path and contains the capital city of Manila.

The storm's trajectory was prompting evacuations this week in mainland China, as well as in Hong Kong, which was expected to see the storm make landfall on Wednesday. Areas across the region are bracing for storm impacts as the storm moves westward.

Direct Relief is currently coordinating with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation as well as the National Disaster Risk Reduction Council as they respond to the effects of the super typhoon. Direct Relief has a longstanding relationship with the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance, or AHA Center, which facilitates coordination and cooperation among ASEAN member states.

Direct Relief has a long history of responding to disasters in the region, including a long history of supporting communities impacted by major disasters in Southeast Asia and beyond, including responses to the Sulawesi and Lombok earthquakes in Indonesia (2018), Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines (2013), the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), and repeated flooding and cyclone events throughout the region.

Direct Relief has staff in the Philippines and will continue to monitor medical needs as they become known.