Super typhoon Ragasa to weaken rapidly from midweek
Storm Ragasa is maintaining winds of more than 220 km/h in the East Sea but is forecast to weaken rapidly from mid-week as it moves towards mainland China and Vietnam.
Ragasa, the strongest storm of 2025 in the East Sea
On the morning of September 23, storm Ragasa was active in the northeastern part of the East Sea with maximum winds of 202-220 km/h, moving west-northwest at a speed of about 20 km/h.
This is considered a stronger storm than Yagi in 2025 and is currently the strongest super typhoon in the world to date.
It is forecast that by the morning of September 24, the center of storm Ragasa will be in the northern part of the East Sea, about 450 km from Leizhou Peninsula (China), maintaining wind speeds of 184-220 km/h.
By the morning of September 25, when entering the south of Guangdong province and Leizhou island, the storm's intensity decreased to 118-133 km/h, gusting to 167-183 km/h.
By September 26, the system rapidly weakened into a tropical depression before entering northern Vietnam with winds of only 39-49 km/h.
Reasons for Ragasa's rapid weakening
According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, storm Ragasa was affected by two main factors that caused its intensity to decrease rapidly: interaction with mainland China's terrain and a continental high pressure mass carrying dry air with humidity of only 30-40%.
The infiltration of dry air has significantly weakened the storm's structure as it approaches Guangdong province and the Leizhou peninsula.
Forecast of storm season in late 2025
Storm Ragasa formed from a tropical depression on September 18 and quickly strengthened into a super typhoon in just four days.
In 2025, the Northwest Pacific recorded three super typhoons: Yagi, Gaemi and Krathon. Yagi alone made landfall in Vietnam, causing serious damage with more than 318 deaths and estimated economic losses of nearly 84 trillion VND.
According to forecasts, from October to December, the number of storms and tropical depressions in the East Sea will be higher than the average of many years, possibly exceeding 4, of which at least 2 storms are likely to directly affect mainland Vietnam.
