1937 Great Hong Kong typhoon

1937 Great Hong Kong Typhoon
Category 3 typhoon (SSHWS)
Surface weather analysis of the typhoon on 1 September
Formed August 28, 1937 (1937-08-28)
Dissipated September 4, 1937 (1937-09-04)
Highest winds 1-minute sustained: 205 km/h (125 mph)
Lowest pressure 958 hPa (mbar); 28.29 inHg
Fatalities 11,021
Areas affected
Part of the 1937 Pacific typhoon season

The 1937 Great Hong Kong Typhoon was an unnamed typhoon in Hong Kong on 2 September 1937. It was one of the worst typhoons in Hong Kong history killing 11,000 people.[1] In Macau, 21 people died by this typhoon.[2]

History

Map plotting the track and intensity of the storm according to the IBTrACS.

Victoria Harbour at the time was the seventh busiest in the world.[3] It was always busy with sampans, junks, ferries, cargo ships, ocean liners, yachts and warships. The typhoon wind was so strong that observatory instruments capable of registering winds up to 125 mph broke down.[4] Hong Kong Observatory have since recorded the wind with a mean hourly wind average of 59 knots, 68 mph, 109 km/h, a 10-minute mean Wind of 74 knots, 85 mph, 137 km/h. The maximum gust was at 130 knots, 149 mph, 240 km/h.[5] The piston of the anemometer hit the stops at 130 knots (240 km/h) and the true maximum gust could not be recorded.[5] The typhoon was so powerful that it caused a 9.1 meter tidal wave that swept through the villages of Taipo and Shatin. The villages suffered massive damage and many fatalities.[6]

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 includes:

  • 1884 Super typhoon - September 11 - 57kts - 106km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
  • 1894 typhoon - October 5 - 54kts - 101km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
  • 1896 Super typhoon - July 29 to 30 - 69kts - 128km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
  • 1900 Geng-Zi typhoon disaster - November 10 - 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 - September 18 - 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 - July 28 - 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 - August 18 - 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 - August 20 - 53kts - 99km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
  • 1929 Typhoon - August 22 - 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 - August 1 - 60kts - 112km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
  • 1936 Super Typhoon - August 17 - 62kts - 115km/h max sustained hourly winds at the Royal Observatory in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

See also

References

  1. ↑ Strzepek, Kenneth M., Smith, Joel B. [1995] (1995). As Climate Changes: International Impacts and Implications. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-46796-9.
  2. ↑ "MACAO TYPHOON DAMAGE. MANY LIVES LOST ON SHORE. FISHING FLEETS SUFFER". The Hongkong Telegraph (page 4). 4 September 1937.
  3. ↑ needs reference
  4. ↑ Time magazine. "Time magazine 1937 account." Hong Kong Typhoon: Monday, Sep. 13, 1937. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  5. 1 2 HK weather gov. "Typhoon Wanda 27 August to 2 September 1962." Typhoon Wanda and other winds. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  6. ↑ http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/1930s/HongKong/
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