Nine people were killed and nine others were missing in the wake of the storm, according to the Xinhua news agency.

At least four people were seriously injured while more than 70 others were hospitalized from injuries mainly due to objects being tossed around by high winds.

More than 300 trees across Hong Kong were also uprooted by Koppu’s unexpectedly strong winds.

The storm developed from a cluster of thunderstorms between Taiwan and the Philippines last week, and was only a severe tropical storm as it approached the coast of China’s Guangdong Province.

But it suddenly intensified with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour as it brushed past Hong Kong and Macau.

Remnants of the storm later drenched a long stretch of southern China.

Koppu is the Japanese word for crater or cup, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

Typhoon Koppu Track

Radar Loop Data: Hong Kong Observatory