By Helen Regan, Taylor Ward

(CNN) — A huge and powerful typhoon is headed toward southern China after lashing the Philippines with destructive winds and torrential rain, putting the region’s megacities on high alert with cancelled flights and disruptions to schools and businesses.

Tens of millions of people could be impacted by the storm, which is expected to pass south of the major cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, before making landfall again in mainland China’s Guangdong Province.

Typhoon Ragasa hit the northern Philippines as the strongest storm on earth so far this year, after generating sustained winds of over 165 mph (267 kph), the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.

The sheer size of the system churning its way through the South China Sea was captured from space by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui aboard the International Space Station.

Ragasa, known in the Philippines as Nando, made landfall as a super typhoon over Panuitan Island, in the northern Cagayan province, on Monday, damaging homes, cutting off roads, and triggering landslides.

Ragasa has since weakened slightly and is no longer a super typhoon, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. However, the storm remains a powerful typhoon with sustained winds of 140 mph (222 kph), making it the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane.

Authorities in China have activated emergency responses. Entire megacities in Guangdong, one of the world’s most populous regions, have been brought to a standstill ahead of the storm, with schools closed and work suspended, some businesses shut, and public transport halted.

Guangzhou, a city of 18.6 million people, is expected to issue its highest red alert later Tuesday, while in Shenzhen, home to about 17.5 million residents, work and businesses were shut down and officials were preparing to relocate 400,000 people from low-lying and coastal areas.

The Hong Kong Observatory warned of the risk of “phenomenal” ocean swells and storm surges of up to 4 meters in some areas on Wednesday.

Supermarket shelves were emptied in Hong Kong as residents stockpiled supplies in preparation, and video showed similar scenes in the southern Chinese cities of Zhuhai and Shenzhen.

Hundreds of flights have been disrupted across the region, with cancelations in Taiwan, Hong Kong and southern China. Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific said it will stop passenger flights scheduled to leave and arrive in the city on Tuesday evening until Thursday morning. Hong Kong Airlines, another regional carrier, also suspended dozens of flights for the week.

Local authorities in Hong Kong said three people were rescued from the sea after a five-year-old boy and a woman were swept away by waves next to a harbor in Chai Wan, an eastern district of Hong Kong island, on Tuesday afternoon.

The boy’s father jumped into the water to try and save them, authorities said. The woman and the boy were rescued by a passing sailor, while police and firefighters were able to save the man, they added. All three are being treated in hospital.

A mega bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and the Chinese city of Zhuhai will also be closed from Tuesday.

Videos posted to social media from residents in Taiwan showed huge swells, rough seas and strong winds as Ragasa’s outer bands lashed the island.

At least two people were killed, 28 people were injured, and 30 people were missing in Taiwan by 7 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center.

Both deaths occurred in Guangfu Township, Hualien County, which was inundated with heavy rain and flooding after a barrier lake burst its banks.

Landslides, flooding in Philippines

The extent of the damage in the Babuyan Islands is not yet clear. The Philippines meteorological agency (PAGASA) had warned of “life-threatening” conditions on the islands as Ragasa’s dangerous winds triggered flooding and landslides.

Images from hard hit Calayan Island in Cagayan, posted by the state-run Philippines Information Agency (PIA), showed roofs ripped from homes, damaged houses, fallen trees and boats washed ashore.

Search and rescue teams recovered three bodies after a large wave overturned a fishing boat that was sheltering in a Cagayan port, PIA reported Tuesday.

Of the 13 people who were on board, six have been rescued and four are still missing, according to PIA.

Cagayan resident Orlando Bartolome Labio told CNN that agricultural workers were especially impacted by the destruction. “Among the most affected are the farmers, including my parents. It’s a very sad event,” he said.

A landslide in Benguet, on Luzon Island, killed one person and injured several others, according to the Tuba Public Information Office. Video posted by the Philippines Coast Guard in northern Luzon’s Ilocos Norte shows teams rescuing families from the heavy winds and torrential rain, and excavators clearing debris from mud-caked roads.

More than 24,000 people were evacuated across northern and central Luzon ahead of the storm, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Council said in a statement Tuesday.

Video from Camiguin Island, posted by the Philippines Department of the Interior and Local Government, showed fierce winds and ocean water whipping past houses onto a residential street. Further north, footage filmed by a resident showed ferocious gusts of wind pelting tall trees in the Batanes province.

Heavy rain advisories remain in place for much of the northern Philippines as Ragasa’s outer bands continue to lash the country, with further risks of flooding and landslides possible in Luzon.

Ragasa is expected to continue a slow weakening trend as it moves closer to Hong Kong and southern China Tuesday and Wednesday, likely as the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane with winds near 115 mph (185 kph), according to the JTWC.

The storm will continue moving to the west-northwest, ultimately making landfall in western portions of Guangdong Province Wednesday evening local time.

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