Part of the 1937 Pacific typhoon season, the tropical cyclone originated on 24 August to the south of Guam, which proceeded generally to the west-northwest.

The typhoon killed at least 11,000 people, possibly as many as 13,000, many of them fishermen, with 1,855 fishing boats wrecked, as well as 28 ships bound for the ocean.

[1] Time described the harbour as the "seventh busiest in the world... always alive with yachts, junks, ferries, sampans, freighters, liners, men-of-war.

"[2] The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) was established in 1883, and a year later, the agency began issuing public warnings of approaching typhoons using a gun.

The September 1937 issue of the Monthly Weather Review described that "there was little evidence of its potentialities", as the storm moved west-northwestward across the western Pacific Ocean.

At 08:00 UTC on August 28,[nb 2] the USS Ramapo encountered the storm, observing an barometric pressure of 1,003 mbar (29.61 in Hg), and sustained winds of 61 km/h (38 mph).

A station there recorded a pressure of 986 mbar (29.102 in Hg), as well as a force 11 on the Beaufort scale, indicating a strengthening storm with winds of at least 105 km/h (65 mph).

Thereafter, the typhoon entered the South China Sea, passing just north of Pratas Island, where a pressure of 993 mbar (29.327 in Hg) was recorded.

[5][6] As the typhoon moved across the northern portion of the South China Sea toward the southern Chinese mainland, it intensified rapidly.

[5] On September 2 around 21:00 UTC the typhoon made landfall just west of Hong Kong, after passing only 12 km (7 mi) south of the British colony.

[8][7] The typhoon's exact intensity was unknown, as its squalls of winds surpassed the capacity of the anemometer, which was greater than 201 km/h (125 mph).

[13] High tides washed many boats ashore and broke other vessels from their moorings,[8][2] including the Asama Maru, the Conte Verde, and the Van Heutsz.

The steamer An Lee broke from its moorings and struck HMS Suffolk, causing 12 people to jump ship, one of whom missed and drowned.

[10] In mainland Hong Kong, the typhoon swept away an entire village in Tai Po Market, resulting in an estimated 300 fatalities.

[2] Outside of Hong Kong, newspapers described the effects in nearby Macau as having "suffered severely",[17] with 21 fatalities in the territory.

Emergency resources were strained due to the ongoing war and naval blockade, although British and American air shipments helped with the supply.

[11] Flooded or blocked roads and railroads disrupted transport, leaving people in Hong Kong stranded for several days.