As a result of the storm – previously a super typhoon – a number of Australians find themselves stranded in Hong Kong, with thousands of flights cancelled and airports shut.

The extent of the destruction is starting to be realised as the system pushes west along the southern Chinese coast toward Vietnam.

It was anything but happy hour at Melbourne man Viviano Romito’s harbourside bistro, Frites.

“When mother nature calls, there’s not much you can do,” he told 9News.

“The pressure of the wave came right over the wall and directly into the restaurant.

“Completely gutted right throughout, the whole bottom floor.”

Hurricane-force winds whipped up a storm surge that swamped multiple waterfront businesses.

“All the restaurants were affected exactly the same,” Romito said.

Over at the Fullerton Hotel, there was not just a leak but a wave, turning the lobby into the pool deck and washing staff off their feet.

Even the high-rise rooms were copping it.

“Even though the windows were closed, because the wind was so strong, it was blowing the rain through it, so we had to put towels down,” Barbara Leota told 9News via Zoom.

Leota and girlfriend Grisellda Tautalafua from Sydney had their flights cancelled, as have thousands of others in Hong Kong.

“They actually shut the airport for 36 hours, so no flights coming in and out – apparently over 700 flights were cancelled, so they’re just scrambling to try and get everyone sorted,” Tautalafua said.

The couple are hoping to be on a flight back home tomorrow.

Flights in Hong Kong resumed today after some 1000 had been disrupted, affecting about 140,000 passengers. Businesses also re-opened on Thursday.

Like in Hong Kong, activities halted earlier in the week are gradually returning to normal in China’s Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Ragasa peaked at super-typhoon strength on Monday, with maximum sustained winds of 265 km/h making it the world’s strongest cyclone of the year.

In the Philippines, Ragasa left at least 11 dead, while in Taiwan, authorities revised the death toll from 17 to 14 on Thursday, citing double-counting.

By Thursday afternoon, its sustained winds had weakened to a maximum 55 km/h and Ragasa was downgraded to a tropical depression.

It’s forecast to dissipate eventually while remaining a rain threat for Vietnam and other parts of South-East Asia.

– Reported with Associated Press.