Macau’s casinos reopened at 2am on Thursday, some 33 hours after they were ordered to close due to the arrival of Super Typhoon Ragasa.
As Ragasa approached on Tuesday, the Macao SAR government decided to close all casinos at 5pm, when the No. 8 signal was hoisted, having arranged for visitors and staff to leave two hours earlier. A No. 9 signal was hoisted at 4am on Wednesday and upgraded to a No. 10 signal at 5:30am. The No. 10 signal remained in effect for over 10 hours.
After Ragasa moved away from Macau, the government downgraded the warning to a No. 8 signal at 4pm Wednesday and further reduced it to a No. 3 signal at 11 pm.
Subsequently, the Chief Executive of Macau issued a new order to reopen casinos at 2am on 25 September. The total closure lasted 33 hours, marking the first casino shutdown in Macau this year.
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) said it would exercise its supervisory powers and coordinate with all gaming concessionaires to ensure the proper reopening of gaming venues.
Macau’s casinos had remained open when Typhoon Wipha struck Macau and a No. 10 signal was hoisted on 20 July. The previous casino closure due to a typhoon occurred during Typhoon Saola’s passage on 1 September 2023, which lasted around nine hours.
The longest previous casino closure due to a typhoon in recent years occurred during Typhoon Mangkhut in September 2018, when the Macau government also kept them closed for about 33 hours.
Beyond the casino closures, all border checkpoints in Macau progressively shut down on Tuesday evening ahead of Ragasa’s arrival before reopening on Wednesday evening.
Ragasa’s impact on Macau was compounded by astronomical tides as low-lying areas experienced widespread flooding. The Inner Harbour district saw water levels reach 1.5 meters at their peak while the Macau Electric Company implemented a temporary power cut on Wednesday morning to expedite post-storm repairs and restore supply. Power was gradually restored throughout the evening.
As Ragasa reached hurricane strength over Macau, numerous districts witnessed fallen trees and numerous motorcycles were also blown over by the wind.
