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inlet of Tola Harbour in the New Territories raised a disastroustidal wave, estimated to be 30 feet in height, which flooded thelow-lying ground around Taipo and Shatin, and caused greatdamage and loss of life.One positive result of the typhoon was the eventualinstallation of better instrumentation. The Post of 4September 1937 reminded readers that while the 125 mphlimit of the Observatory's anemograph... is more than sufficient for all normal purposes it has longbeen realised that a better instrument is desirable. Governmenthas now, however, undertaken to supply the Observatory withan instrument capable of registering gusts up to 200 mph. This,it is understood, will be available next year.(This anemograph was installed in 1939 and was capable ofreading gusts up to 190 knots. Hey wood notes that the gustof 145 knots on 2 September 1937 was recorded by aninstrument on the roof of the Hong Kong Electric Co.power station and can be considered reliable as theanemograph was checked and calibrated by Observatorystaff a few days after the typhoon.)Hey wood also reports that the September 1937 typhoonwas Hong Kong's worst, with the maximum gust of 145knots at North Point, 130 knots at the Observatory and theminimum pressure of 958.3 mb at mean sea level being themost extreme on record.His description of the typhoon is a model of detachedscientific reporting:The storm developed about halfway between the Marianas andthe Philippines on 28 August, and moving generally in a westnorthwesterlydirection passed through the Balintang Channelon the 31st, crossing the 'danger belf between Basco andManila. Thereafter it approached Hong Kong directly at aspeed of about 15 knots. Its track was typical of many typhoonswhich have affected Hong Kong, approaching from ESE andpassing to the south of the Colony; in severity it has probablybeen equalled by a number of other typhoons which haveoccurred in the Far East. .. As usual the weather was fine and64
sultry at the time when the typhoon was entering the ChinaSea; the fine spell lasted until daybreak on the 1st, when the skyclouded over. There were no very obvious premonitory signsthat day - no bands of cirrus radiating from the east, no halos,no lurid sunset; it was just a cloudy humid day. The wind beganto rise in the late evening, and rain set in at 23h.; at the sametime the barometer, which had been falling steadily, began todrop steeply. The rising wind held steadily in the NNW, and itwas obvious that Hong Kong was in for a severe blow.The wind reached gale force at about 2h. and hurricane forcei\ hours later. The barometer reached its minimum of 956.4 mbat 03AOh.; at this time there was a perceptible lessening of theviolence of the wind, and rainfall almost ceased, indicating thatthe eye of the storm was extremely close. The centre in factpassed some 5 miles to the south of Hong Kong Island. Thewind veered quickly from N to ESE as the centre was passingand soon began to lessen, although the rainfall was heaviestduring the following hour. Daybreak showed a desolate scene;ships were aground all around the harbour, streets were litteredwith branches and debris, and the trees were combed bare ofleaves. In all 28 steamships were stranded . . , providentiallynone broke up, and the loss of life due to these strandings wasextremely small. But a large number of junks and small craftsank with heavy loss of life. The worst disaster occurred in TolaHarbour and Tide Cove, where a tidal wave estimated to be 30feet in height swept across the low-lying ground at Taipo andShatin, destroying several villages and four miles of railwayembankment, and taking many lives. Ample warning of theapproach of this typhoon was given by means of the local stormwarnings issued by the Observatory.Wearily, Hong Kong cleaned up, buried its dead, andbegan rebuilding. There were to be four further typhoons —November 1939, August 1940, June 1941 and September1941 — before the Japanese came to Hong Kong. Mercifullyfor a Hong Kong increasingly conscious that an attack wasinevitable, they were not so severe as the tragedy ofSeptember 1937.65
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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
Page 22 and 23: Chapter 1KSJSJOJ/ do think that, of
Page 24 and 25: work of the observatory made no pro
Page 26 and 27: its physical observations of the ph
Page 28 and 29: period. The main building was recta
Page 30 and 31: on metal pipe frames, were too ligh
Page 32 and 33: Blackhead's Hill (Signal Hill) and
Page 34 and 35: many previous storms when the wind
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Page 39 and 40: European assistants, at least one o
Page 41 and 42: ... Mr. da Silva has resigned. . .
Page 43 and 44: few minutes' warning of one of the
Page 45: water height by up to several metre
Page 50 and 51: I he early European traders, mercha
Page 52 and 53: the sun's rays in tropical climates
Page 54 and 55: coast; trees are broken or rooted u
Page 56 and 57: Professor S. Wells Williams, anothe
Page 58 and 59: 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 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 and 110: for a series of fine weather and ca
Page 111 and 112: The typhoon of Saturday September 2
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
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small craft. It includes 24-hour ar
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much of the Observatory's work invo
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The marine meteorology section of t
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The water shortage having become ve
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The signal was received by a helica
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The shock occurring yesterday after
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The Royal Observatory is part of tw
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acquired its own radar, which was u
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grass. Soil temperatures are read f
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* Vertical section through the atmo
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of Mineral Resources recommended a
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Much of Hong Kong's population live
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BibliographyABEL, Clarke, Narrative
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IndexAbel, Clarkevisit to Hong Kong
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Macdonnell, Governor Sir Richard, 2
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