TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Known as the strongest storm of the year in the world, Typhoon Ragasa churned through parts of the Western Pacific and slammed into southern China, whipping massive waves, triggering floods and leaving at least 27 dead in its wake in Taiwan and the Philippines.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, the strongest storm of 2025, is battering the Philippines with 162 mph winds, mass evacuations, and storm surge warnings.

Although they form in different regions, these tropical cyclones all have the same mannerisms. They use the energy from warm ocean waters to develop, and as other factors such as the coriolis effect influence the storms, they can begin to rotate. No matter what the storm is called, a ranking system exists to communicate the storm's intensity.

A barrier lake in Taiwan's mountainous and sparsely populated east coast county of Hualien burst on Tuesday as the outer edges of Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded the island bringing heavy rainfall, killing 15 people so far in a flood.

We've seen many rapid intensifiers in recent years, but in the early 1980s, a reconnaissance mission documented a Western Pacific typhoon undergoing explosive growth. Here's what happened.

Ragasa had sustained winds of 134 miles per hour and gusts of up 165 mph as it headed west at 12 mph and the weather agency warned of a "high risk of life-threatening storm surge" of more than 3 meters (around 10 feet.)