J 7
THE TYPHOON.
9. The typhoon of September the 2nd will long be remembered in the eastern part of this District, where it caused much damage and suffering.
Throughout the District matsheds, and houses in a poor state of repair, together with hundreds of trees, were laid low. Orchards suffered severely, as did telephone and power lines, and buildings generally were damaged.
The damage done by wind alone was not, however, so extraordinary as to make this typhoon memorable here. Unfortunately the height of the gale coincided with a very high tide, so that the swollen waters of Mirs Bay were driven with double force westward up those narrow arms of the sea, Starling Inlet, Tolo Harbour, and Tide Cove, whence they had no outlet. The sea rose, about 2-5 a.m., in places 20 and more feet higher than it had been known to rise for many decades. The resultant damage was astonishing. All along the coast from the head of Tide Cove to Tai Po Market, and round the head of Tolo Harbour to Plover Cove, and all round the shores of Starling Inlet, railway embankment, roads, bridges, paths, piers, and bunds were breached and broken up, and buildings overthrown. At Tai Po Old Market most of the houses, over sixty of them, were swept down by a flood which rolled on as far as the doorsteps of Tai Po T'au, over half a mile inland, carrying battered human beings, cattle, pigs, dogs, ducks, chickens, and debris with it. The remaining buildings were all badly damaged. In Plover Cove, Shuen Wan and the surrounding hamlets suffered similarly, the great bund-path there being almost wholly overthrown, and the flood moving on with weight sufficient to crush most of the houses even at Shan Ha Wai, nearly half a mile inland. All the big bunds on Starling Inlet suffered similarly, and the sea's incursions there were just as deep, demolishing over thirty houses, and damaging many others.
Even if the flood had risen in daylight there must have been casualties, as it rose swiftly, and was aggravated by a raging sea and tearing wind. Coming as it did in the middle of the night, casualties were heavy: over 300 in the whole District, including about 170 at Tai Po and about 100 at Sha T'au Kok.
Of the boats belonging to the boat-people about an eighth were lost, and many more badly damaged. Probably half their gear was lost, and none of it remained undamaged. An even greater proportion of the boats belonging to farmer-fishermen, living ashore, were lost.