At least 14 people were killed when a decades-old lake barrier burst in Taiwan, a government official said, after Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded the island with torrential rains.
Ragasa lashed the northern Philippines and Taiwan on Monday with heavy rain and strong winds, forcing thousands to evacuate.
The barrier lake in eastern Hualien county burst Tuesday, washing away a bridge and sweeping into a town.
"As of 7am Wednesday (11pm Irish time yesterday), 14 people are confirmed dead and 18 injured," said Lee Kuan-ting, a Hualien County Government press official.
Mr Lee told AFP rescuers were also searching for 30 people reported missing in the area. The National Fire Agency later updated the number of missing people to 124.
Hualien fire officials said flood water temporarily rose as high as the second floor of a house in some parts of the town Tuesday, stranding about 263 people.
They were not in immediate danger and were asked to stay and wait for the water to recede.
Footage released by the fire agency showed flooded streets and half-submerged cars as trees were uprooted in the area.
Across Taiwan, more than 7,600 people were evacuated due to Typhoon Ragasa.
Around 3,100 people were evacuated beforehand and moved in with relatives in the area near the creek in Hualien, according to the fire agency.
Taiwan experiences frequent tropical storms from July to October.
Typhoon Danas, which hit the island in early July, killed two people and injured hundreds as the storm dumped more than 20 inches of rain across the south over a weekend.
Super Typhoon Ragasa lashes Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and heavy rain
Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year, lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain as the city shut down and more than 700 flights were cancelled.
Roads were deserted as authorities instructed people to stay indoors and surging waves topped over parts of the Asian financial hub's eastern and southern shoreline.
"Areas which were previously sheltered may become exposed...seas will be phenomenal with swells," the observatory said.
Ragasa, packing winds of up to 200kph, will be closest to the city in the next few hours, skirting around 100km south of the densely populated territory.
It is expected to maintain super typhoon intensity as it edges closer to the coast of China's Guangdong province, home to more than 125 million people, where it is expected to make landfall from midday.
Ragasa swept through the northern Philippines on Monday and Taiwan on Tuesday.
The typhoon sparked panic buying this week, with people piling into supermarkets, leaving little on the shelves and in some cases queuing for hours to purchase goods amid fears that shops could be closed for two days.
As the typhoon approached, residents taped their windows in the hope of minimising any danger from shattered glass.
Hong Kong issued the typhoon signal 10, its highest warning, which urges businesses and transport services to shut down. Authorities also issued the Amber rainstorm signal, expecting heavy rain to continue, with some streets already partially flooded, according to the South China Morning Post.
Authorities have warned of rising sea levels, saying the could be similar to those seen during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, both of which caused billions of dollars in damage.
"The water level will reach the maximum around noon, generally to around 4 metres" the observatory said.A woman and her five-year-old son were swept into the ocean after watching the typhoon from the waterfront, according to the SCMP, which said they are now in intensive care after being rescued.
The government said it has opened 49 temporary shelters in various districts and 727 people have sought refuge at the shelters.
Hong Kong's Stock Exchange will remain open. It changed its policy late last year to continue trading whatever the weather.
Guangdong authorities have evacuated over 770,000 people, state broadcaster CCTV said. In the gambling hub of Macau next to Hong Kong, authorities also issued the No. 10 warning signal.
