Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
7-2023
Abstract
By looking at how typhoon risk was managed in early twentieth-century colonial Hong Kong, this article argues that bringing a historical lens to the discussion of the human-climate-environment nexus is an essential part of studies of resilience and vulnerability. It interprets physical evidence of the strength of a natural event against human factors, including structural and social vulnerabilities and governance. Investigating two of the deadliest typhoons to have hit Hong Kong's shores (1906 and 1937), this article notes that social vulnerabilities played a major part in turning the typhoon of 1937 into a worse disaster than 1906, despite advances in storm warning and typhoon defences in the intervening years. Thus, with our close lens and with hindsight, we can extrapolate the many factors that contributed to decreased resilience, potentially learning from each disaster as a window into understanding risk elsewhere today.
Discipline
Environmental Sciences | Physical and Environmental Geography
Research Areas
Integrative Research Areas
Publication
International Review of Environmental History
Volume
9
Issue
1
First Page
39
Last Page
56
ISSN
2205-3212
Identifier
10.22459/IREH.09.01.2023
Publisher
ANU
Citation
WILLIAMSON, Fiona.
Atmosphere, environment, society: The typhoon vulnerability nexus in early twentieth-century Hong Kong. (2023). International Review of Environmental History. 9, (1), 39-56.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cis_research/224
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.22459/IREH.09.01.2023