HISTORY – The Day a Cargo Ship Washed up on Cheung Chau Beach


In September, 1983, a Cypriot freighter called ‘City of Lobito’ beached on Cheung Chau island after being washed ashore by Typhoon Ellen. The 6000-tonne cargo ship narrowly avoided smashing into newly built beachside apartments (by just 30 metres).

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via uwants.com

Islanders took care of the 21 Filipino crew members until they were repatriated. The shipping company went bankrupt.

via uwants.com

Hong Kong experienced extensive damage with 22 killed or reported missing, 1,600 people made homeless and 277 injured during Ellen. Winds gusted to 134 knots (248 km/h) at Stanley and lasted for 5 hours around Cheung Chau. 22 ships ran aground in the harbor whilst rainfall totaled 231.8 millimetres (9.13 in).

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via Hugh Cameron on FB

Some 80,000 households in Kowloon and the New Territories suffered power failure during the T-10 typhoon.

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via shipspotting.com

There were 150 reports of flooding and 250 reports of roads being blocked by fallen trees, collapsed scaffolding, sign-boards and other debris.

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via Marc Mulloy on FB

The second tornado ever recorded in Hong Kong, and the first during a typhoon passage, occurred during Ellen.

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The ship during better days, via shipspotting.com

It was Hong Kong’s worst typhoon since Typhoon Hope of 1979.

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Via weather.gov.hk. Click to enlarge.

Insurance claims totalled HK$300million, however – there was some relief. Ellen filled HK’s reservoirs, filling High Island Reservoir for the first time and 11 others around the territory.

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via Gwulo.com

For more historical entries on Hong Wrong, click here. Photographic favourites include…



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