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een too frequently chronicled in the annals of Hong Kong. OnSunday last however the peculiar state of the atmosphere - aremarkable calm closeness so often the precursor of a heavy blowin this part of the world together with a low and continuallyfalling barometer gave sufficient indications to those afloat that itwas time to take all due precautions against what would in allprobability turn out bad weather and possibly a typhoon .. .During the forenoon a most remarkable fall continued until 2pm when the almost unprecedentedly low range of 29.98[inches] was noted, at which the mercury appeared for a timeinclined to remain stationary ...It is lamentable to have to state that beside the great lossof property many lives have been sacrificed — it is of courseimpossible as yet to arrive at anything like an estimate of thenumber. The terrific gusts which passed between noon and 3 pmcaused fearful destruction among the trading junks mooredbetween the Canton Wharf and the Sailor's Home.By Friday, 30 September, the Daily Press, while continuingto chronicle the adverse effects of the typhoon, did manageto find one bright spot in the wreckage, reporting:It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and who knowswhether the 'Great Wind } the other day was not providentiallyordained on purpose to destroy the bath-house belonging to theSwimming Club. It is quite certain that it is destroyed, or verynearly so, and it is also certain that this destruction may beturned to excellent account if the committee will only accept thesuggestion of the typhoon. It is clear that the bath was not in theright place and the best thing that can now be done is to find outwhere the right place is, and put it there. The abomination beingnow a desolation there is every opportunity to convert it into areally serviceable institution by placing it in a healthy position. Asthe now defunct house last stood, it occupied precisely the spot of allspots in the harbour which it should not have occupied.Even when the signs of an approaching typhoon wereunmistakable, it seems, they were not always heeded, withconsequent tragic results. On 7 September 1871, The ChinaMail commented:96
The typhoon of Saturday September 2nd will be longremembered for the widespread destruction caused on shore andin the harbour of Victoria, As we mentioned on Saturdayevening, the barometer had been steadily falling during the dayand the inevitable gusty signs of the storm's fury had even thenbegun to show themselves. Fortunately, the warnings thus givenwere noted and acted upon by many, and the list of casualties istherefore smaller than it might otherwise have been. Still, therecord of destruction is much fuller than could be desired; and itis matter for regret that more heed is not taken by those interestedof the warnings so clearly and unmistakeably given . .. Since1862 - the hurricane which swept away nearly the entire boatpopulation of Canton - nothing like the grand exhibition ofwild destruction has been seen here as that which greeted the fewstaggering visitants of the Bund on Saturday night. In 1848,there was no Pray a to wash away, and no retaining wall to getwrecked upon; but on this occasion the dark scene of havoc willlong remain engraved on the minds of many.Three years later there is evidence that the Chinesepopulation was better than the European settlers at forecastingthe approach of a storm. On Thursday, 24 September1874, the Hong Kong Daily Press reported, under the heading'Terrific Typhoon':On Tuesday night and yesterday morning Hong Kong wasvisited by the most awful typhoon which has ever been recordedin the history of the Colony. The weather during the day hadbeen threatening) the barometer having fallen very considerablyduring the forenoon and still remaining low in the evening ...in the course of an hour it was evident that a typhoon of a severecharacter was to be apprehended and this proved too soon to bethe case. The Chinese had, as usual, during the Tuesdayanticipated the danger and the sampans and junks cleared out inlarge numbers to seek shelter. Some doubts were however feltamong foreigners as to whether there would be more than a gale,though the preponderating opinion on Tuesday evening wasthat a typhoon was to be anticipated. In fact the indications were97
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UNIVERSITY OFHQ,NG KONG>**"/////»I
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The Royal Observatory, Hong KongJIM
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The effect of climate on human cond
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IntroductionIifc on earth is possib
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Theories had been developed: as ear
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Then came another important scienti
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thirty feet high, huge grotesque lo
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Ancient Chinese astronomical instru
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Chapter 1KSJSJOJ/ do think that, of
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work of the observatory made no pro
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its physical observations of the ph
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period. The main building was recta
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on metal pipe frames, were too ligh
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Blackhead's Hill (Signal Hill) and
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many previous storms when the wind
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coast ports and the police in fact
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European assistants, at least one o
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... Mr. da Silva has resigned. . .
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few minutes' warning of one of the
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water height by up to several metre
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I he early European traders, mercha
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the sun's rays in tropical climates
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coast; trees are broken or rooted u
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Professor S. Wells Williams, anothe
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We had a striking example in Hong K
Page 60 and 61: Hong Kong lies just within the trop
Page 62 and 63: Chapter 3OFCOTWETSEverybody talks a
Page 64 and 65: The sun's disc had a diameter on th
Page 66 and 67: Such detailed rules failed to impre
Page 68 and 69: the periods before winter droughts
Page 70 and 71: crossed into Hong Kong, followed by
Page 72 and 73: inlet of Tola Harbour in the New Te
Page 74 and 75: The war in Europe had spurred the d
Page 76: Inset: The backs of these cigarette
Page 79 and 80: It 8 am on 8 December 1941, 12 Japa
Page 81 and 82: The records are all in pencil, neat
Page 83 and 84: The civil staff was soon put to the
Page 85 and 86: The department is in fact primarily
Page 87 and 88: temperature down to 3J°C at the Ob
Page 89 and 90: moving directly towards Hong Kong,
Page 91 and 92: If the weather in 1965 was comparat
Page 93 and 94: since Typhoon Shirley in 1968. It h
Page 95 and 96: Radar observations early on 26 July
Page 97 and 98: almost as accurately as from a reco
Page 99 and 100: Waves smash over the praya at Kenne
Page 101 and 102: Chapter 5CLICKINGCCFTHEAt the prese
Page 103 and 104: November and December are normally
Page 105 and 106: move them a substantial distance in
Page 107 and 108: .. . wind blowing through the long
Page 109: for a series of fine weather and ca
Page 113 and 114: Above: How the 1874 typhoon destroy
Page 115 and 116: Above: Aftermath of the 1923 blow w
Page 117 and 118: its of storm water which could be s
Page 119 and 120: he splitting of time into microscop
Page 121 and 122: The Third Congress of the World Met
Page 123 and 124: small craft. It includes 24-hour ar
Page 125 and 126: much of the Observatory's work invo
Page 127 and 128: The marine meteorology section of t
Page 129 and 130: The water shortage having become ve
Page 131 and 132: The signal was received by a helica
Page 133 and 134: The shock occurring yesterday after
Page 135 and 136: The Royal Observatory is part of tw
Page 137 and 138: acquired its own radar, which was u
Page 139 and 140: grass. Soil temperatures are read f
Page 141 and 142: * Vertical section through the atmo
Page 143: of Mineral Resources recommended a
Page 148: Much of Hong Kong's population live
Page 153 and 154: BibliographyABEL, Clarke, Narrative
Page 155 and 156: IndexAbel, Clarkevisit to Hong Kong
Page 157 and 158: Macdonnell, Governor Sir Richard, 2
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