XN000022-1977-11-13 — Page 8

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1977

THE SPOKESMAN STATED THAT THE DATA, OBTAINED WITH A MINIMUM TIME LAG, WERE BASICALLY INTENDED TO FACILITATE A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION OF HONG KONG.

+APART FROM A LIMITED NUMBER OF QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS IN QUANTITATIVE TERMS, THE FIRMS WERE ASKED TO COMPARE THE QUARTER JUST PAST WITH THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND SIMILARLY FOR THE FORTHCOMING ONE. THEY ONLY HAD TO INDICATE WHETHER, IN THEIR OPINION, A CERTAIN VARIABLE WAS 'UP', 'SAME' OR 'DOWN', HE SAID.

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COPIES OF THE REPORT, CONTAINING AN ANALYSIS AND STATISTICAL TABLES ON VARIOUS ECONOMIC VARIABLES, HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO FIRMS TAKING PART IN THE SURVEY AND OTHER BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS.

Ave

NEW BOOKLET TRACES TYPHOON'S TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION

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THE ABILITY OF A TROPICAL CYCLONE TO SMASH AND DESTROY PROPERTY AND LIFE AS IT RIPS ITS WAY ACROSS LAND AND CITIES IS WELL KNOWN TO MOST HONG KONG RESIDENTS -- TYPHOONS CAUSED ABOUT HK$5,000 MILLION WORTH OF DAMAGE IN HONG KONG, THAILAND, KOREA, JAPAN, THE PHILIPPINES FROM 1969 TO 1973.

THESE FACTS, THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF A TROPICAL CYCLONE AND ITS OFTEN TRÁGIC RESULTS, ARE DETAILED IN A NEW GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION THE LIFE HISTORY OF A TROPICAL CYCLONE+.

THE BOOKLET IN ENGLISH ONLY, TRACES THE PATH OF TYPHOON ELSIE AS IT MEANDERED ITS WAY ACROSS THE WESTERN PACIFIC AND SOUTH CHINA SEA THREATENING DESTRUCTION TO THE PHILIPPINES, HONG KONG AND CHINA IN OCTOBER 1975.

TYHPOON ELSIE WAS TYPICAL OF THE MANY TYPHOONS THAT

HAVE BECOME SO MUCH A PART OF LIFE IN HONG KONG. THE BOOKLET SHOWS CLEARLY THE TRACK OF THE CYCLONE WITH SATELLITE PHOTOGRAPHS, MAPS, CHARTS, RADAR PICTURES, THE TECHNICAL METER READINGS TAKEN AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY.

THE BOOKLET WAS PREPARED BY DR. P.C. CHIN OF THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, PRODUCED BY THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES AND PRINTED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER.

IT IS AVAILABLE AT $8 A COPY AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, LOCATED IN THE GENERAL POST OFFICE, CONNAUGHT PLACE, HONG KONG AND ALL LEADING BOOK STORES.

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