REVIEW
5
Typhoon Viola was kindly in all her aspects, causing no deaths, and although 41 people were hurt most of the injuries were slight. The same cannot be said of the four typhoons which followed. They exhibited a ferocity and a variety which fully justified the observa- tion made by the Royal Society in 1879, when recommending the establishment of the Royal Observatory, that Hong Kong is 'favour- ably situated for the study of meteorology in general and typhoons in particular'. Once again we added to the list of pretty names which ever afterwards have a sinister echo for those who suffered by them. Ida killed five and drove thousands from their homes, Ruby killed 38 for certain and probably another six and brought misery to thousands more whose homes were destroyed and damaged, Sally killed nine and Dot 26.
Ruby was one of the worst typhoons in recent years and there was an immediate need for relief on a large scale for its victims. The Community Relief Trust Fund had been set up to meet just such a need. When Ruby struck the fund had a balance of $250,000, but this was clearly not enough to meet all the claims which would be made. The day after the typhoon, however, money began to come in. More than $300,000 were contributed in the first day in sums ranging from $10 to $100,000. The next day brought news of a government contribution of $200,000 and a gift from the British Government of £5,000. Even this was not enough to meet the very large claims now being made for urgent relief of hardship and a further government donation of $300,000 had to be made a few days later. The fund was almost exhausted when typhoon Dot struck and another $1 million was voted from public funds.
Money cannot measure the tragedy and distress which these typhoons brought to Hong Kong. For those whose only home is a boat a typhoon is a time of desperate and unrelieved anxiety. For others whose flimsy shelter is a squatter hut a typhoon adds another cruel burden. Yet despite the death and destruction which it brings there is something stimulating about the atmosphere of the city as a storm approaches. There is the suddenly noticed change in the appearance of the harbour, emptied of all the small craft which normally criss-cross it. The typhoon shelters filling up until they are black with tight-packed boats. Traffic dies away, the streets empty, and men of the Public Works Department come round to remove the roofs of the 'pagodas' under which the points