This is the terrifying moment a tornado shook a restaurant as staff laid out the tables in the Philippines.

The winds whipped through the Mang Junior's porridge shop in Ilocos Sur province and knocked down chairs and equipment at the eatery on August 30.

Footage shows staff and diners panicking as the gales swept through the open-air dining area and blew away baskets, bowls, and food containers on the counter.

Local disaster officials said the tornado had destroyed three houses in San Ildefonso town. No casualties or injuries were reported.

A tornado is a violent rotating column of air that connects the earth and a storm cloud. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the rise of warm, humid air and the fall of cooler air inside a thunderstorm create spinning currents that condense into a visible whirling funnel.

Tornadoes spawned from supercell thunderstorms are the most common, and often the most damaging.

The Philippines and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are in their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon leading to widespread flash floods.