appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP

This article was first published on October 15, 1975.
Direct hit – but Elsie’s harmless
Hong Kong on Wednesday (October 15, 1975) began to mop up after Typhoon Elsie scored a near-direct hit on the colony with winds gusting up to 113mph (182km/h).
At dawn on Wednesday, Royal Navy boats, army helicopters and marine police launches were to begin a sweep of outlying areas to see where help was needed.
But at 3am, it appeared that little help was needed anywhere in Hong Kong.
The colony had escaped without loss of life or serious property damage after the first No 10 signal in four years had been hoisted.
Typhoon Elsie crossed the south China coast 60 miles west of Hong Kong about 10pm Tuesday night (October 14), after battering Hong Kong for most of the day.
The storm was expected to weaken rapidly over land – although strong winds and rain will continue on Wednesday, Royal Observatory spokesmen said.
At least 50 were hurt as Elsie smashed her way over Hong Kong.
Twenty people were sent to hospital with broken limbs and other injuries caused by flying debris as they braved streets which were at times like battlefields.
At least two men taken to Queen Mary Hospital had deep cuts caused by flying glass.
In Kowloon, one man was badly hurt in Jordan Road when an awning fell on him.
But, as usual, the major dramas took place in the harbour.

At least 10 ships dragged their anchors and wallowed helplessly until tugs towed them to safe anchorages.
As the winds of Typhoon Elsie reached their peak in the early afternoon, the surface of the harbour was whipped to a grey-white fury.
Huge waves spilled over many waterfront streets, and the winds picked up some vehicles and smashed them against road dividers and lamp posts.
It was a dismal day for pleasure boat owners – many vessels went down in typhoon anchorages and popular mooring places.
But for the fisherfolk of Hong Kong, Elsie passed with a lot of worry but little damage.
It was obvious on Wednesday that Hong Kong survived the storm with relatively minor damage because of the early warnings issued by the Royal Observatory.
Signals went up and down as Elsie passed across the South China Sea, swept on to Hong Kong and finally faded away.
At Kai Tak, virtually all flights were cancelled because of the storm.
Throughout the day, army personnel, policemen, firemen, and members of other essential services stood by to look after those affected by the typhoon.
Hundreds of people sought refuge in temporary shelters and were fed and clothed by the Social Welfare Department.
All public transport came to an early halt.
A few taxis and minibuses kept operating, with the taxis charging as much as five times the usual fares.
In many instances yesterday (October 14), policemen risked their lives to protect people.
A Post reporter saw a pile of bamboo scaffolding and steel sheeting that had collapsed onto a crowded hawker bazaar in Quarry Bay.
A police Land Rover pulled up and four policemen went into action.
Two of them herded away the crowds as the other two threw a rope around part of the wreckage and pulled it to the side of the road.
As they did so, a huge sheet of glass, blown from a nearby construction site, smashed into the road nearby.
“I thought this typhoon was supposed to miss us,” one of the policemen said, as he strained to hold down the bamboo and steel.


Scammers posing as police cheat 42 mainland students in Hong Kong out of millions

Smoking is down but why are more Hong Kong women getting lung cancer?

Operation Santa Claus: charities help Tai Po fire survivors rebuild their lives

Parents of baby Danny to get 1-hour weekly visits, list 3 possible outcomes

Hong Kong society

Typhoon Elsie batters Hong Kong in 1975, leaving 50 hurt – from the SCMP archive

A traffic pavilion collapsed at the height of Typhoon Elsie, which smashed through Hong Kong on October 14, 1975. File photo: Chan Kiu

The Royal Observatory hoists the highest No 10 signal as Typhoon Elsie makes its way to Hong Kong. File photo: SCMP

Awe and wonder as Hong Kong Space Museum opens in 1980 – from the SCMP archive

The Hong Kong Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui under construction in 1978. Photo: Sunny Lee

Hong Kong Chief Secretary Sir Jack Cater (centre) and Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales (right), chairman of the Urban Council, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Hong Kong Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui on October 7, 1980. Photo: P Y Tang

Visitors admire exhibits at the Hong Kong Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui on October 7, 1980. Photo: P Y Tang

Construction workers on the Space Museum’s domed roof in 1978. Photo: Chan Kiu

Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love opens in Hong Kong in 2000 – from the SCMP archive

Maggie Cheung Man-yuk and Tony Leung Chiu-wai in the film “In The Mood For Love”. Photo: Jet Tone Production

Page 5 of the South China Morning Post on September 29, 2000. Photo: SCMP

Maggie Cheung Man-yuk in a still from In the Mood for Love 25th Anniversary Special Edition: Photo: Jet Tone Production

Wong Kar-wai poses during the photocall of his film “In the Mood for Love” at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival, on May 20, 2000. Photo: AFP

When Typhoon Hope battered Hong Kong in 1979, killing 12 and injuring 260 – SCMP archive

A lorry lying on its side after Typhoon Hope hit Hong Kong on August 2, 1979. Photo: Chan Kiu

A clipping from SCMP’s August 3, 1979 front cover. Photo: SCMP

A pedestrian rushing back home when Typhoon Hope swept Hong Kong on August 2, 1979. Photo: Chan Kiu

Huge waves hit the Western District shore during Typhoon Hope. Photo: P. Y. Tang

Fallen signboards after Typhoon Hope swept across Hong Kong. Photo: Chan Yuen-man

News

Hong Kong

Society

On this day 50 years ago, Hong Kong was placed under the highest No 10 signal as Typhoon Elsie swept through the city


On this day 50 years ago, Hong Kong was placed under the highest No 10 signal as Typhoon Elsie swept through the city.


China

US Navy

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}On this day 50 years ago, Hong Kong was placed under the highest No 10 signal as Typhoon Elsie swept through the city

Direct hit – but Elsie’s harmless

On this day 50 years ago, Hong Kong was placed under the highest No 10 signal as Typhoon Elsie swept through the city