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came a storm which Endacott describes as 'the mostdestructive typhoon in the history of the colony' [up to thattime]. It whipped through the settlement, so badly damagingthe Civil Hospital that it had to be abandoned; twohundred houses were destroyed, and three miles of the Praya- the workmanship on which had been faulty - were badlyaffected.The renovated Mountain Lodge, originally built byGovernor Sir Richard Macdonnell as a summer retreat forhimself and senior officials, was one of the casualties.Sayer describes the 1874 typhoon as:. . . even fiercer and more destructive than that of seven yearsbefore [the typhoon of October 1867]. Among other calamitiesthe pray a wall, laboriously rebuilt after its destruction in 1867,was once more demolished.And that, according to contemporary newspaper reports, wasan understatement. The Hong Kong Times put it this way:The rain descended in torrents; the wind blew with the violenceof a tempest, the rage of a whirlwind. Vessels staunch andstrong were driven hither and thither about the Harbour or on tothe shore, like children's toy craft; roofs were torn off as by thehand of a mighty giant; trees were uprooted by the hundred;rows of buildings were blown down in a moment, many of theinhabitants being buried beneath the ruins; the Harbour wateroverflowed on to the Praya, dashing aside and carrying awaycoping stones of tons of weight. The work of destruction went onwithout intermission for hours; and it may be said that there isnot a single house in the colony but what has suffered.From Macau, the newspaper's correspondent reported:Tuesday was a night of terror and horror that can never beforgotten by those who survived it; for many, alas, perishedamid the crash and strife of the elements . . . Chinese officialsestimate that the typhoon claimed more than 100 000 lives as itswept through Kwangtung province. In Hong Kong the bodieswere buried. But in Macau the loss of life was so great that thebodies were simply heaped together and burned. More than1 000 bodies were burned on a single day.47