The next big typhoon swept over Hongkong on the night of August 31-September 1, 1848. The barometer reading here was, at its lowest point, 28.84, yet we are told the full force of the gale was not experienced. Nevertheless, although the Harbour Master had this time been able to give timely warning of the expected typhoon, there was considerable loss of life and property, while thirteen ships were wrecked or otherwise damaged in the harbour. It was significant that on this occasion the damage to European property was slight, as by now substantial granite and brick houses had superseded the flimsy structures of the earliest years. The reference to a warning is also interesting, as showing that even then some system had been evolved of taking precautions: no doubt the storm was detected by the ordinary shipping method of noting the falling mercury in the barometer.
Nothing of a startling nature in this line occurred until September 1855, when a severe gale passed close enough to do much damage to shipping and piers, and furthermore caused some loss of life through a serious landslide at Queen's Road West, where the heavy rain accompanying the typhoon had undermined the hillside, and a number of houses were completely buried by the fall of earth.
A curious seven-year cycle seems to have accompanied these wind-storms, for the next severe one occurred on July 27, 1862, though it did not expend its full force here. Nevertheless, it caused a considerable loss of life, largely, of course, among the floating population, at a time when proper typhoon shelters had not yet been constructed for small craft.
For the biggest typhoon disaster (since 1841) however, and not equalled until many years later (in 1906) we must take the year 1874: the storm striking the Colony suddenly and with terrific force. There was no time for precautions, and these could have been of little use. The gale commenced on the evening of September 22, and raged through the night. There were a number of small boats in harbour at the time, which were taken unawares and sunk, with enormous loss of life. There was a high tide as well, adding to the damage done on the seafront, and it appears that a slight earthquake shock (a curious accompaniment of many severe typhoons) occurred at the time. When day dawned the place looked as if it had been bombarded by artillery. Not only were all mat-shed structures demolished, but hundreds of substantial European and Chinese houses were in ruins, and thousands more were unroofed. Trees were uprooted everywhere and in many cases hurled some distance by the force of the wind; and the heavy rain caused bursting of water channels and silting up of the city streets. Business had to be suspended for several days while the debris was cleared away and damage partly repaired. The Praya presented an awesome sight—littered with piles of wreckage, where hundreds of sampans and other small craft appeared to have been wrecked and cast up, while scores of dead bodies were washed ashore, and hundreds more were floating in the sea. Thirty-five fairly large foreign ships had been either wrecked or severely damaged.
It was estimated at the time that fully 2,000 lives were lost here, and the damage done amounted to quite five million dollars. The screams of the Chinese in distress during the six hours that the storm was at its height were actually heard by residents of the upper levels, rising above the din of howling wind and crashing walls and snapping timber. It is worth noting that a fire which broke out during the height of the gale was actually put out by the force of the wind!
A message of sympathy was sent by Her Majesty Queen Victoria when the news of the disaster reached her.