Typhoon Mangkhut, also known as Ompong in the Philippines, began forming in the Pacific Ocean 10 days ago and quickly intensified to a Category 5–equivalent super typhoon with sustained winds of 125 miles an hour by September 11. Its path took it westward, across the Philippines, then into Hong Kong and southeastern China, where it has now been downgraded to a tropical storm after tearing up villages and cities, flooding coastlines and plains, and causing massive landslides. At least 50 people are known to have been killed by Mangkhut so far, most in the Philippines. Reuters reports that China’s meteorological administration said Mangkhut was one of the 10 biggest storms to hit southeastern China since 1949.
Photos: The Aftermath of Super Typhoon Mangkhut
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Rainfall covers the city as strong winds batter houses and buildings lying in the path of Typhoon Mangkhut as it makes landfall in Tuguegarao city, northern Philippines, on September 15, 2018. #
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Paramilitary police officers carry chainsaws as they prepare to clean up damaged trees and branches on a road after Super Typhoon Mangkhut hit Zhongshan, in China's Guangdong province, on September 17, 2018. #
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A man stands trapped in raging floodwaters caused by Typhoon Mangkhut before being rescued in Tarlac, Philippines, in this still image from a September 15, 2018, video from social media. #
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Panels and debris from a collapsed ceiling are seen with blown-over pieces of furniture in a company office in a harborside commercial building whose windows were blown out in Hong Kong on September 17, 2018. #
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Ducks walk in a flattened cornfield, damaged by strong winds from Typhoon Mangkhut near Tuguegarao city, Cagayan province, northeastern Philippines, on September 15, 2018. The typhoon hit at the start of the rice- and corn-harvesting season in Cagayan, a major agricultural producer, prompting farmers to scramble to save what they could of their crops, Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba said. #
Aaron Favila / AP -
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Houses sit perched alongside a landslide believed to have buried a number of victims after Typhoon Mangkhut barreled across Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines, on September 17, 2018. #
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Rescuers use a line to transport a body recovered at the site where victims are believed to have been buried by a landslide near Itogon, northern Philippines, on September 17, 2018. #
Aaron Favila / AP -
A resident walks on the edge of a road as police officers and fire marshals clear debris and fallen trees caused by a landslide at the height of Typhoon Mangkhut near Bokod, Benguet, Philippines, on September 16, 2018. #
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