1937 Typhoon's Toll Document

muugee
Mon, 09/22/2014 - 23:56
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1937 Typhoon's Toll Document

Picture actually 'taken' on 2011-11-02!

My grandfather had this hanging in his garage for many years. I thought it may be of interest.

Date picture taken
2 Sep 1937
Tags
map
typhoon
ships grounded
Barometer readings
Gallery
1930s Hong Kong
Shows event(s)
1937 Typhoon

Comments

That's an interesting document, thanks for posting. (If there's any chance you have a higher-resolution copy, please could you try uploading it, as I'm having trouble reading somne of the text.)

Was your grandfather in Hong Kong when that typhoon struck?

Regards, David

David, I do have a higher res photo, how should I upload it?

By the way, my G-father [J S Snook] was in HK April 1937 - Feb 1939, so he was there when the typhoon struck.

Regards, Mark.

I look forward to seeing the high resolution photo of this map...  Looks like that there are also records of the winds and pressure, which would be of interest to the Hong Kong Observatory.

CM Shun

Thanks to Mark & Moddsey for sending sharper copies of this document. Mark's original is in better shape, so I've updated the image above to use that copy.

Regards, David

Hi Mark,

Is there any possibility for the Hong Kong Observatory to borrow this very interesting poster from you?  We are arranging a public exhibition with the Hong Kong History Museum and this poster would be an excellent item either as an exhibit or as presentation material for public talk.

Best regards, CM Shun

Dear Muugee,

Further to CM Shun's request, we would like to know the dimension of the poster. 

The poster is an ideal exhibit to illustrate the impact of typhoons.  We look forward to your positive reply to Mr. Shun's request of lending it for the exhibition (9 July - 3 Sep 2013 at HK History Museum).

 

Sandy Song 

 

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for donating this highly informative poster to the Hong Kong Observatory.  Today the exhibition on the 130th anniversary of the Observatory will kick off at the Hong Kong History Museum (http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/History/en_US/web/mh/exhibition/current.html), and the poster is one of the highlights of the exhibition!

I just googled the web about your grandfather Mr JS Snook and find his name in an Navy archive (http://archive.org/stream/navylistapr1945v3grea/navylistapr1945v3grea_djvu.txt) for 1945.  Do you think the entry "Naval Store Officer - J.S. Snook, Esq" refers to your grandfather?

Thanks again!

CM Shun

My grandfather was indeed John Stanley Snook, a Naval Store Oficer serving in Hong Kong Dockyard at the time. He had taken his wife and  daughter  (my mother) with him. My mother told me that they sat in the house, with the shutters closed, and felt the building shake!

Dear Muugee, 

I have read the post about the 1937 typhoon poster with great interest. You are so generous to donate this to the observatory. 

I am a reporter with the South China Morning Post, I want to find someone who survived the 1937 typhoon for an interview. 

Were you alive at that time, or are you parents or grandparents still alive and might agree to talk to me?

Please do not hesitate to contact me:

olivia.rosenman@scmp.com

phone: 5988 5694

Hi,

I have numerous publications,including on the 1937 typhoon and others,from the Royal Observatory(as it was),Hong Kong,though these may be available online.

Did your parents(or was it your grand-parents,sorry) ever mention unusual fauna in Hong Kong,especially dugongs,dholes and wolves?

Richard

Having only just seen this old thread about the 1937 typhoon, I was intrigued to see that the largest ship driven ahore was the Conte Verde of 18,765 tons - marked on the map as being at Little Sai Wan (Siu Sai Wan).  Knowing how small the bay was prior to all the redevelopment the huge ship must have provided a spectacular sight, although I see that it was refloated within about a month, so must have remained relatively undamaged.

I have colllected some more information found on various sites on the Internet, (SS Conte Verde.jpg) which I have loaded into the 1930s Hong Kong gallery, and now link it to this thread.  Andrew

SS Conte Verde.jpg
SS Conte Verde.jpg, by Andrew Suddaby

Another interesting photograph. Other photographs give the impression that the ship was much closer in to the shore - but if you zoom in on your mother's photograph it looks very much like a tug pulling the ship from its grounding spot into deeper water.  Regards, Andrew

Conte Hong K.jpg
Conte Hong K.jpg, by muugee