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same purpose as a breeches buoy. With extremely bad weather it could mean, with supplies running low, men having to stay on the island for an extra couple of days or so before they could be relieved.30
But lighthouses are constructed in exposed positions because of their role and for much of the time out there in the South China Sea life can be anything but enviable. One can even be swept away by hurricane force winds and huge waves in mountainous seas (Jones; 1985, 387). One only has to live in Hong Kong for a relatively short period to realize what the weather can be like (Dyson; 1983). For example, the typhoon which struck the colony on 2nd September 1937 was said to have been the worst natural disaster in Hong Kong's recorded history. Estimates of the final toll range up to 11,000 dead.
By comparison the Battle of Hong Kong, which lasted from 8th to 25th December 1941, saw some 2,250 Allied servicemen killed, an estimated 4,500 Japanese deaths, plus unknown but significant civilian casualties (Dyson; 1983, 62). Since World War Two, death tolls from typhoons have been lower because of today's more efficient weather forecasting and warning systems.
The maximum recorded gust in Hong Kong was 259 kilometres an hour at the Royal Observatory during the passage of Typhoon Wanda, on 1st September 1962 (Hong Kong Observatory; 1999). On that occasion Waglan recorded a gust of 216 kilometres an hour. The maximum gust ever recorded at Waglan was 230 kilometres per hour. This was during the passage of Typhoon Ruby on 5th September 1964.
Try to imagine being cooped up in the cylindrical prism of Waglan Lighthouse, with windows that do not open and no air-conditioning, after the Number Ten Typhoon Signal had been hoisted.31 This signal indicates a probable direct hit. It was not until the 1970s that the lighthouse watch tower was air-conditioned.
It is recorded that, in 1893, a severe typhoon passed over Gap Rock (which can be seen by telescope from Waglan).32 This caused extensive damage to the lighthouse which extinguished the light for several days (Hong Kong; 1962, 14). In spite of the base of the tower being well above sea level and the lantern windows being situated approximately 15 metres or so above the base of the tower, the windows