The 1937 Great Hong Kong Typhoon was an unnamed

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

on 2 September 1937. It was one of the deadliest typhoons in Hong Kong history killing 11,000 people. In

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, 21 people died by this typhoon.

History

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

at the time was the seventh busiest in the world. It was always busy with

sampan A sampan is a relatively flat-bottomed Chinese and Malay wooden boat. Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. The design closely resembles Western hard chine boats like th ...

s, junks, ferries,

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

s and

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

s. The typhoon wind was so strong that observatory instruments capable of registering winds up to 125 mph broke down.

Royal Observatory Hong Kong The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in H ...

have since recorded the wind with a mean hourly wind average of 59

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

, 68 mph, 109 km/h, a 10-minute mean Wind of 74

, 85 mph, 137 km/h. The maximum gust was at 130 knots, 149 mph, 240 km/h.HK weather gov.
Typhoon Wanda 27 August to 2 September 1962
." ''Typhoon Wanda and other winds.'' Retrieved on 2007-12-19. The piston of the anemometer hit the stops at and the true maximum gust could not be recorded. The typhoon was so powerful that it caused a tidal wave that swept through the villages of Taipo and Shatin. The villages suffered massive damage and many fatalities. The hurricane signal, equivalent to the hurricane signal number 10 in modern days in Hong Kong SAR, was hoisted a few hours prior to its closet approach at 15 km to the south-southwest of Hong Kong. Other storms that hoisted the hurricane signal prior to 1946 include: *1884 Super typhoon - 11 September - 57kts - 106km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong *1894 typhoon - 5 October - 54kts - 101km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong *1896 Super typhoon - 29 to 30 July - 69kts - 128km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong *1900 Geng-Zi typhoon disaster - 10 November - 61kts - 113km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. The strongest November typhoon to date, surpassing all typhoons in October. * 1906 Super Typhoon - Small but compact - 18 September - 50kts - 92km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. The typhoon appears to be comparable to Typhoon Hope * 1908 Typhoon - The storm was over Cheung Chau - 28 July - 52kts - 96km/h. *1923 Super Typhoon - The storm was over Aberdeen, Hong Kong Island at approximately 6 miles to the South of the Royal Observatory - 18 August - 67kts - 124km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. The typhoon appears to be comparable to Typhoon Hope *1927 Severe Typhoon - 20 August - 53kts - 99km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong *1929 Typhoon - 22 August - 57kts - 106km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. The typhoon appears to be comparable to Typhoon York *1931 Super Typhoon - 1 August - 60kts - 112km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong *1936 Super Typhoon - 17 August - 62kts - 115km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

References

External links

* S. Campbell
"Typhoons affecting Hong Kong: Case Studies"
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, April 2005
A Review of Natural Disasters of the Past
{{DEFAULTSORT:1937 Great Hong Kong Typhoon Pre-1940 Pacific typhoon seasons 1937 in Hong Kong Typhoons in Hong Kong 1937 natural disasters 1937 meteorology

History

See also

References

External links