Typhoon Ragasa lashed Hong Kong with heavy rainfall and powerful winds.

Dramatic footage shows sheets of rain battering the city as green tarpaulins and mesh covering an under-construction building whipped violently in the gusts on September 23.

In another clip captured by Alan Yang Holun, gale-force winds and rainfall can be seen sweeping across Wong Chuk Hang.

A small tree is seen bending under the force of the storm, but it remains standing thanks to the supports secured around its trunk.

The Hong Kong Observatory warned of 'phenomenal' ocean swells as storm surges were predicted to reach up to four metres (13 feet) in some areas.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, said to be the strongest storm of the year so far, is roaring towards Hong Kong after tearing through the northern tip of the Philippines, killing at least one and displacing thousands.

It made landfall in the country's remote and poverty-stricken Babuyan Islands at 3 pm local time on Monday. It arrived as the Philippines continues to grapple with weeks of severe flooding brought on by an unusually intense monsoon season.

Hong Kong authorities have grounded at least 700 flights from Tuesday evening as Ragasa barrels toward the Chinese coast. Panicked locals have also cleared grocery shelves as they prepared to hunker down in their homes.

China has ordered schools and businesses shut in at least 10 cities as citizens brace for Ragasa's landfall in the coastal province Guangdong.