"Starting at 6:00 pm tomorrow, September 23, Cathay Pacific's passenger flights arriving at and departing from Hong Kong International Airport will cease operations until resuming during daytime hours on Thursday," a spokeswoman for the airline said at a Monday press conference.

"More than 500 flights are currently expected to be cancelled."

Ragasa is crossing the Luzon Strait between southern Taiwan and northern Philippines, and is expected to hit Hong Kong and southern China on Tuesday.

As of 11:00 am (0300 GMT), maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometres per hour were reported at the storm's centre, with gusts reaching up to 265 kph as it moved westward towards the Babuyans, the Philippines' national weather service said.

The Hong Kong Observatory forecast the city will see "gale to storm force winds" on Wednesday.

"The weather will be adverse with frequent heavy squally showers and significant storm surge," the weather bureau added.

Officials said they planned to stack sandbags and install flood barriers for some coastal villages in the city.

The Education Bureau announced Monday that all schools will be suspended on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The city's hospital authority said public hospitals have implemented special measures to ensure emergency services are not affected during the storm.

twa/je/fox

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS