1937 Great Hong Kong typhoon
| Category 3 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Surface weather analysis of the typhoon on 1 September
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| 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. In Macau, 21 people died by this typhoon.
Victoria Harbour at the time was the seventh busiest in the world. 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.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. The piston of the anemometer hit the stops at 130 knots (240 km/h) and the true maximum gust could not be recorded. 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
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:
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