251
No. 12
09
HONGKONG.
REPORTS OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH, THE SANITARY SURVEYOR, AND THE
COLONIAL VETERINARY SURGEON FOR THE YEAR 1898.
Lail before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor.
SANITARY BOARD.
Members:
J. M. ATKINSON, M.B., (Lond.), D.P.H., Principal Civil Medical Officer (President). Hon. F. H. MAY, c.m.a., Captain Superintendent of Police, (Vice-President). Hon. R. D. ORMSBY, Director of Public Works.
J. DYER BALL, Acting Registrar General.
FRANCIS W. CLARK, M.B.; D.P.II. (cumb.), Medical Offi'er of Health.
EDWARD OSBORNE.
To the President of the Sanitary Board.
SANITARY BOARD OFFICES, March 14th, 1899.
SIR,I have the honour to submit for the information of the Board the following Report upon the health of the Colony of Hongkong during the year 1898.
AREA.
The island of Hongkong has an area of rather more than 29 square miles, and the city of Victoria, which is situated upon its northern shore, extends along the sea-front for a distance of four and a half miles and up the hillside to the city limit of 800 ft. above high-water mark; the total area of the city covered by buildings being approximately 580 acres. The opposite peninsula of Kowloon, which is also comprised within British territory, has an area of some 22 square miles.
The domestic buildings of the city of Victoria number 7,438 (exclusive of Barracks and Police Stations) of which 539 are European dwellings, while there are also some 120 houses in European occupation in the Hill district. The various villages over the island contain 31 European dwellings and 1,600 Chinese dwellings, while in British Kowloon there are 93 European dwellings and 1,850 Chinese dwellings, exclusive of the Barracks for the Hongkong Regiment and 72 small houses used by this Regiment as married quarters.
This shows an increase upon last year of 64 European dwellings and 282 Chinese dwellings; the plans of these 346 new buildings have all passed through my hands during the year, with a view to seeing that they complied strictly with the Public Health Ordinances of the Colony, and the same pro- cedure has been adopted with all plans for alterations to existing buildings; and I am thus enabled to keep the Inspectors of Nuisances well informed as to the proposed alterations to buildings in their several districts.
CLIMATE.
The average monthly temperature throughout the year has been 72.2° F as compared with 71.7° F during 1897; the maximum monthly temperature was attained in July when it reached 81.7° F and the minimum monthly temperature was recorded in the month of January, being 60.1° F as com- pared with 54.2° F in 1897.
The highest recorded temperature was 91.5° F on May 30th, and the lowest was 46.1° F on the 25th January.
The total rainfall for the year was 57.025 inches as compared with 100.03 inches during 1897, the wettest months were June with 14.25 inches and August with 9.9 inches, and the driest was December with 0.025 inch.
The greatest amount of rain which fell on any one day was 2.585 inches on August 25th, while no rain fell on 213 days of the year; the relative humidity of the atmosphere throughout the year was 74.6 per cent, being lowest in December when it stood at 52 per cent, and highest in May and June when it stood at 83 per cent. The average daily amount of sunshine throughout the year was 5.8 hours as compared with 4.78 during the previous year; on 41 days only was no sunshine recorded.
These figures have been calculated from the monthly Reports issued by the Director of the Hong- kong Observatory; the temperatures were taken at 108 feet above mean sea-level and at 4 feet above the grass.