In anticipation of Super Typhoon Ragasa, the strongest tropical cyclone of the year, Hong Kong closed on Tuesday. Authorities advised residents to stay indoors, and the majority of passenger flights were scheduled to be halted until Thursday.
As panic shopping took hold and locals stocked up on necessities out of concern that stores might be shuttered for two days, people packed into supermarkets, leaving little on the shelves.
Residents of the city taped up windows in houses and businesses in the hopes that it would lessen the effect of any broken glass.
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, Ragasa is a “severe threat to the coast of Guangdong” with hurricane-force winds of up to 220 km/h (137 mph).
