HONG KONG — Streets in southern China were empty on Wednesday as Typhoon Ragasa, one of the world’s most powerful storms this year, hit the area, having previously caused destruction between the Philippines and Taiwan.

Taiwanese media reported early Wednesday that at least 14 people were confirmed dead in Taiwan after floodwaters from a barrier lake flooded into Guangfu township in eastern Hualien County, citing official sources.

At least three deaths were reported a day earlier in the Philippines, where the storm also displaced thousands of people in the north of the country.

According to China’s National Meteorological Center, by Wednesday afternoon, Ragasa had downgraded from a super typhoon to a strong typhoon, yet was still producing winds of up to 112 mph. After making landfall in southwestern Guangdong later Wednesday, it was forecasted to advance into the Gulf of Tonkin, situated between South China and Vietnam.

Authorities warned of heavy rain and strong winds across southern China.

Earlier, the storm skirted the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau, where intense winds roused residents overnight, leading to school closures, flight cancellations, and the shutdown of numerous businesses.

Residents had been stockpiling food and other supplies, while businesses taped their windows and lined sandbags along entryways.

Callan Williamson, aged 36, is a brand manager at a consulting firm who moved to Hong Kong five years ago and described Ragasa as the first major typhoon he had encountered.

“I have had water coming through the kitchen window,” he said.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued its highest weather alert, storm warning signal No. 10, at 2:40 a.m. local time (2:40 p.m. ET Tuesday), an hour after issuing its second-highest alert, No. 9. By 1:20 p.m. local time (1:20 a.m. ET), the alert was reduced to No. 8, indicating the city’s third-highest level of warning.

Maximum sustained winds as high as 120 mph were recorded on the island of Lantau, home to Hong Kong’s international airport.

Macau, a major gambling hub, also issued a No. 10 warning signal early Wednesday, and casinos were closed.

Ragasa, which means “scramble” in Tagalog, brought heavy showers and major storm surge to Hong Kong, and members of the public were advised to stay indoors and stay away from the shoreline and low-lying areas. The observatory said the storm surge caused a general rise of almost 5 feet in water levels across the city.

By late morning, the storm was leaving Hong Kong, a densely populated international financial hub of 7.5 million, though hurricane-force winds persisted.

The Hong Kong stock exchange was open after changing its policy last year to continue trading regardless of weather conditions.

Hong Kong government officials said almost 800 people had sought refuge at dozens of temporary shelters. As of 11 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET Tuesday), there were 56 reported injuries, 350 reports of fallen trees, one reported landslide and 12 reports of flooding.

In one incident, huge waves crashed through the glass doors of the oceanfront Fullerton Hotel on the south side of Hong Kong Island, flooding the ground-floor lobby and sweeping people off their feet, according to videos posted on social media that were verified by NBC News. Calls to the hotel were not answered on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, CCTV video showed a succession of waves bursting through the doors of a restaurant in the Tseung Kwan O neighborhood in the New Territories, sending furniture afloat.

The observatory said that at 2 p.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), the storm was centered about 110 miles west-southwest of Hong Kong. It was forecast to continue moving west or west-northwest at about 14 mph as it approached the west coast of China’s Guangdong province, where it was expected to make landfall.

On Tuesday, mainland Chinese officials elevated the typhoon emergency response to Level III in Guangdong, the country’s most populous province at more than 125 million people, as well as in the island province of Hainan. More than 1 million people had been evacuated from Guangdong as of Tuesday afternoon, Chinese state media reported.

More than 10 cities in Guangdong have suspended classes, business operations and public transport, including high-speed trains, and flights have been canceled at major regional airports including in the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Officials had said Ragasa could be even more destructive than Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, which caused hundreds of millions of dollars in direct economic losses to the region.

Hong Kong has experienced unusually severe rainfall this year, including four black rainstorms — the city’s highest tier of heavy rain — within eight days from late July to early August. On Aug. 5, the Hong Kong Observatory recorded more than 14.5 inches of rain, the highest daily rainfall in August since records began in 1884.