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SCMP

This article was first published on September 17, 1999.
By Glenn Schloss
Typhoon York, the most powerful storm to hit Hong Kong for 16 years, killed one man, left another missing and caused a trail of destruction on Thursday, September 16, 1999.
More than 490 people were hurt, windows were blown out of offices and hundreds of power cuts reported.
The storm forced the hoisting of the No 10 hurricane signal for the first time since Typhoon Ellen killed 10 people in 1983.
Security guard Chu Siu-wai, 66, was killed on Thursday when he was hit on the head by an object in King Lam Estate, Tseung Kwan O, at 6am on his way to work. He bled to death. A windsurfer, 22, was missing on Thursday night after disappearing off Cheung Chau.
(The body of windsurfer Liu Chun-ho was found off Cheung Chau three days after he disappeared, increasing the death toll from Typhoon York in Hong Kong from one to two people.)
By the time the No 10 signal was replaced by a No 8 at 5.45pm, it had been in force for 11 hours – the longest period since records began in 1946.
The No 8 was replaced with a No 3 at 10.10pm as York began to disintegrate over the mainland. All signals were lowered at 12.45am.
Legislators, businessmen and sailors called on the Observatory to improve its alert system after complaints of insufficient warning. The SAR went to sleep on Wednesday night with a No 3 signal hoisted, but awoke on Thursday to the fury of York’s 140km/h winds.
“We were caught by the erratic behaviour of York,” Observatory senior scientific officer Leung Wing-mo said.

The No 8 signal went up at 3.15am and the hurricane signal at 6.45am, with the eye of the storm passing over Hong Kong Island at about 10am.
Five crew were rescued from a mainland river freighter, Tsang Hon 9038, which sank west of Lantau. Three other vessels – a crane ship, a liquefied petroleum gas carrier and a small container ship – ran aground, Lloyd’s Shipping Intelligence Service said.
Insurers last night began adding up the damage. The bill is expected to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
The storm shattered windows in Central Plaza in Wan Chai and frames were ripped from the Revenue and Immigration towers and other blocks.
The stock exchange, banks, schools, government offices and firms closed for the day. The Mark Six draw was postponed.
The airport remained open during the storm, but no passenger jets landed or departed until 9.17pm, when Korean Air flight KE605 arrived from Seoul. There were more than 466 cancellations and delays.
The Government activated its disaster bunker, the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre, and manned it with 20 staff to coordinate its response to the typhoon.
As flooding struck northern parts of the New Territories, firemen in dinghies rescued 10 people from two Sheung Shui villages.
The injured jammed hospitals, with 493 people receiving treatment by last night, mostly for minor injuries. Seven women and four men were in a serious condition last night, including a man struck by a piece of metal near the Great Eagle Centre in Wan Chai.
CLP Power received 7,000 calls complaining about power failures, many of which left people stuck in lifts.
Boats were badly damaged at the Hebe Haven marina in Sai Kung – one of the owners, police Senior Inspector Gus Scott, said the Observatory should have given more warning of the storm to allow the boats to be secured.
Observatory senior scientific officer Chan Yuk-kwan said no warnings were necessary on Wednesday night as York, then a severe tropical storm, was stationary 160km out to sea and weather conditions in Hong Kong were “very quiet”.

“If it had hit Hong Kong [then], certainly it wouldn’t have caused much damage,” he said.
The storm began to move after midnight, intensified into a typhoon and sped up.
“It was quite erratic. It changed direction frequently and changed speed,” he said.
Legislative Council security panel chairman James To Kun-sun said the Observatory should provide more information.
General Chamber of Commerce director Dr Eden Woon Yi-teng said the decision-making process for typhoon warnings needed “tinkering”.
In May, Dr Woon said he had received a lot of informal complaints from businesspeople about the raising of the No 8 typhoon signal for a tropical storm. The Observatory subsequently apologised.
York was the second typhoon to hit in less than four weeks. A China Airlines MD-11 crashed on landing during Typhoon Sam on August 22, killing three people and injuring 212.


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From our archives

Typhoon York kills 2 people and injures hundreds in Hong Kong in 1999 – from SCMP archive

Sampans drift off Sai Kung Pier after being carried away by huge waves caused by Typhoon York on September 16, 1999. Photo: Dickson Lee

A couple sit at the waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui as the No 3 signal is raised over Hong Kong on September 15, 1999. Photo: Edward Wong

Yachts at Sai Kung run aground after being hit by strong winds and waves brought by Typhoon York on September 16, 1999. Photo: Dickson Lee

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1994’s landslide at Kwun Lung Lau housing estate in Kennedy Town killed three people, including a 9-year-old girl and her father. Photo: Eric Li 

South China Morning Post issue from July 24, 1994.

2,000 families were forced to evacuate the housing estate. Photo: Eric Li 

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A tram heading to Whitty Street in October 1967. Photo: SCMP

A tram pushes through a market on Chun Yeung Street in North Point in August 1969. Photo: Benson Lo

A passenger buys a ticket from a tram conductor in June 1971. Photo: Benson Lo

A tramways worker in August 1971. Photo: Chu Ming-hoi

A passenger on a new tram in July 1972. Photo: R. Yung

A new tramway on Des Voeux Road Central in November 1976. Photo: Robin Lam

A tram drives into King’s Road from Tong Shui Street in North Point in September 1976. Photo: Sunny Lee

A new tram stop in Shau Kei Wan in November 1977. Photo: P.Y. Tang

Jaywalkers on King’s Road, North Point, as a tram waits at a stop in July 1977. Photo: Chan Kiu

A tram from the Hong Kong Tramways Company is one of 29 “floats” featuring in a parade in April 1977 celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. Photo: P.Y. Tang

The depot at Sharp Street in 1978. Photo: C.Y. Yu

A tram on King’s Road, North Point, in 1979. Photo: Robin Lam 

A tram passenger perches himself on a window railing in July 1984. Photo: Chan Kiu

A tram marshal, with his chair tied to the tram stop, at Western Market in November 1984. Photo: Sunny Lee

Trams locked nose to tail at Queensway after a power surge at a Harcourt Road sub-station held up eastbound traffic in May 1984. Photo: Sunny Lee

A tramways worker in a shelter monitors tram traffic in Wan Chai in July 1985. Photo: Sunny Lee

Young members of a brass quintet play in a tram, as part of a music festival in June 1985. Photo: Martin Chan

Schoolchildren jump over a big puddle after getting off a tram in Quarry Bay in June 1988. Photo: P.Y. Tang

The last tram leaving the Sharp Street depot in Causeway Bay in March 1989. Photo: Oliver Tsang

A tram passes by the 65-year-old Lee Theatre in Percival Street, Causeway Bay, in March 1991. The site has been redeveloped into a shopping plaza. Photo: Robert Ng

Trams running in front of the Methodist Church on Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, in 1992. Photo: SCMP

A tram provides refuge on a gloomy day in Hong Kong in May 1992. Photo: Mark Ralston

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher waves hello to Hongkongers from a tram in May 1993. Photo: Martin Chan

Trams have become moving billboards, like this one in May 1994. Photo: Michael Tsui

A tram trundles through a street, surrounded by neon signs, in May 1994. Photo: Michael Tsui

A collision between two trams at the junction of Percival Street and Hennessy Road in Causeway Bay resulted in a long queue in December 1995. Photo: SCMP

A tram passes through narrow Chun Yeung Street in North Point in February 1995. Photo: SCMP

Trams crawl slowly through a crowd outside Happy Valley Racecourse in February 1995, when thousands of racegoers clamoured to witness the last race meeting before the track was renovated. Photo: SCMP

A new look for the tram, introduced in 2000. Photo: Antony Dickson

An air-conditioned “cooler tram” (right) was launched in June 2016. Photo: Edward Wong

Trams and drivers at the Whitty Street Tram Depot in May 2017. Photo: Dickson Lee

A tram in Central in 2018. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Fans of Cantopop heartthrob Keung To take photos of a tram in Causeway Bay in April 2022 that was specially decorated to mark their idol’s 23rd birthday. Photo: Jelly Tse

A tram marking the 26th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule passes the old Wo Cheong Pawn Shop building in Wan Chai. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong MTR’s Eastern Harbour Crossing opens in 1989 – from the SCMP archive

A train enters the new MTR cross harbour tunnel on the Kowloon side heading for Quarry Bay station. Photo: Sam Chan

South China Morning Post issue from August 5, 1989.

Hong Kong architects praised for revitalising historic shophouses – from the SCMP archive

Hong Kong-based firm Aedas was honoured for its work on 10 Wan Chai shophouses on July 18, 2013. Photo: David Wong

Old shophouses on Mallory Street in Wan Chai on October 19, 1999. Photo: Edmond So

Former URA executive director Andrew Lam Siu-lo inside the structure on March 18, 2005. Photo: David Wong

The URA unveiled a HK$118 million revitalisation project for the Green House in Wan Chai back in March 18, 2005. Photo: David Wong

The designers mainly retained the interior of the old shophouses, July 18, 2013. Photo: David Wong

The revitalised buildings, now in white, on June 18, 2013. Photo: David Wong

The Beatles in Hong Kong: legendary UK rock band’s visit in 1964 – from the SCMP archive

Members of The Beatles wave to fans as they arrive at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong on June 8, 1964. Photo: Handout

South China Morning Post issue of June 9, 1964, with front page story about The Beatles. 

Fans of the Beatles wave as the band members Jimmie Nicol (drummer replacement for Ringo Starr), Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison arrive at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong on June 8, 1964. Photo: Handout

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The ‘erratic behaviour’ of the strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong in 16 years catches forecasters by surprise


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Hong Kong Observatory

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The ‘erratic behaviour’ of the strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong in 16 years catches forecasters by surprise

The ‘erratic behaviour’ of the strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong in 16 years catches forecasters by surprise