Hong Kong: Hong Kong and parts of southern China ground to a halt on Tuesday evening as Super Typhoon Ragasa approached with high winds and lashing rain, forcing Chinese authorities to shut down schools and businesses in at least 10 cities. The Hong Kong Observatory earlier issued its third-highest typhoon warning, T8, adding it would consider upgrading the warning as early as 11:00 pm (1500 GMT) Tuesday. An AFP reporter saw waves nearly five metres high smash into the seaside promenade of Hong Kong's Heng Fa Chuen residential district around nightfall. In Hong Kong, classes were to be suspended on Tuesday and Wednesday, though the stock exchange adopted new rules this year to keep markets open during typhoons. There were no flights out of Hong Kong after 1000 GMT, according to the airport's website.