Shopkeepers in Hong Kong’s flood-prone areas have taken pre-emptive measures to protect themselves against the approaching Super Typhoon Ragasa, while more than 100 households in Tai O have been evacuated as the government stepped up efforts to minimise potential damage.

Authorities warned on Monday that severe flooding would hit low-lying areas such as Lei Yue Mun in eastern Kowloon, Tai O on western Lantau Island and Tai Po in the eastern New Territories as Ragasa – a Filipino word meaning “rapid” or “fast action” – approached Hong Kong.

The government moved a robotic “water-pumping dragon” into Lei Yue Mun on Monday morning and made 40,000 sandbags available around the city – four times more than during previous typhoons.

Islands district council member Ho Siu-kei, who is also chairman of the Tai O rural committee, said more than 100 households in Tai O had been moved into temporary shelters with the help of about 80 volunteers, committee staff and members of the government’s community care team.

He said residents were cooperative and understanding after experiencing typhoons Hato in 2017 and Mangkhut in 2018, which caused waist-deep flooding during high tide.