Typhoon Ragasa batters south China after killing 17 in Taiwan

Fierce winds, pounding rain and rough seas battered southern China on Wednesday as powerful Typhoon Ragasa made landfall in Guangdong province after killing at least 17 in Taiwan.

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Ragasa churned into Guangdong, home to tens of millions of people, and journalists at the impact point in the city of Yangjiang saw flying debris and gusts ripping advertisements off of buildings.

The typhoon had hours earlier swept past Hong Kong, with the densely-populated city's weather service ranking the storm the strongest yet in the northwestern Pacific this year.

Ragasa's passage in Taiwan killed at least 17 and injured 18 when a decades-old barrier lake burst in eastern Hualien county under the storm's heavy rain, according to regional officials.

Authorities earlier said 152 people were unaccounted for, but later revised that figure down to 17, saying they had made contact with more than 100 of those previously deemed missing.

More than 7,600 people were evacuated due to Ragasa and footage released by the fire agency showed flooded streets, half-submerged cars and uprooted trees.

Authorities across mainland China ordered businesses and schools to shut down in at least 10 cities across the nation's south, affecting tens of millions of people.