Panic buying erupted in Hong Kong as Typhoon Ragasa approached today, with residents scrambling to stock up on essential supplies.

Footage shows worried locals queuing for basic necessities in a busy market on September 22, bracing for the extreme weather.

Packing wind gusts of up to 230km/h (143mph), Ragasa is expected to make landfall on the northern islands of the Philippines on Monday before moving west toward southern China.

Thousands of residents in the Philippines have already been evacuated as a precaution, with the country preparing for the typhoon's full impact.

The storm is forecast to hit the remote Batanes or Babuyan islands, situated around 740km south of Taiwan, where approximately 300 people have already been evacuated.

Authorities have also announced that Hong Kong International Airport will suspend passenger flights for 36 hours, starting Tuesday evening and lasting until Thursday morning.