1937 Great Hong Kong typhoon
Category 3 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Surface weather analysis of the typhoon on 1 September | |
Formed | August 28, 1937 |
---|---|
Dissipated | September 4, 1937 |
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
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, yacht]]s 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 74knots, 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]
See also
References
- ↑ Strzepek, Kenneth M., Smith, Joel B. [1995] (1995). As Climate Changes: International Impacts and Implications. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-46796-9.
- ↑ "MACAO TYPHOON DAMAGE. MANY LIVES LOST ON SHORE. FISHING FLEETS SUFFER". The Hongkong Telegraph (page 4). 4 September 1937.
- ↑ needs reference
- ↑ Time magazine. "Time magazine 1937 account." Hong Kong Typhoon: Monday, Sep. 13, 1937. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
- 1 2 HK weather gov. "Typhoon Wanda 27 August to 2 September 1962." Typhoon Wanda and other winds. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
- ↑ http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/1930s/HongKong/
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Hong Kong Typhoon of 1937. |
- 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