In situ oxygen consumption rates were estimated for the first time during destruction of coastal hypoxia as disturbed by a typhoon and its reinstatement in the South China Sea off the Pearl River estuary. The reinstatement of summer hypoxia was rapid with a comparable timescale with that of its initial disturbance from frequent tropical cyclones, which has important implications for better understanding the intermittent nature of coastal hypoxia and its prediction in a changing climate.