National Geographic : 1900 Nov
THE MANILA OBSERVATORY emitting by wire, if possible, the forewarning of the typhoon to any province or provinces of the archipelago seriously threatened by the storm, in order to prepare them for emergencies. If the progress of the typhoon becomes dangerous to Manila, then, not only during the daytime but all through the night, if necessary, storm warnings, with all important information, are transmitted to the public and to the authorities more frequently, and if thought convenient special ac counts of the typhoon are sent to the chief officer of the port. In short, every possible precaution is adopted by the observatory in order to avoid any kind of disaster. The observatory takes an especial care besides to warn all ship owners and shipmasters to beware of the danger threatening ships on the high seas, and advice is given accord ingly to retain their vessels in the bay until the weather abates; in case of sailing, the masters of the ships are cautioned regarding the storm and the way of escaping danger. But the warnings of the Manila Observatory have always, up to the present, had a much wider circulation than in the islands of the Philippine Archipelago. In truth, many times cablegrams have been sent to us, not only from Singapore and Hongkong, but from other outside ports, desiring information about the weather or about the probable track a typhoon would follow, and if we thought it safe for a ship to make the trip to Manila. To these telegrams the ob servatory has always been very careful to answer with promptness and precision. But we think it useless here to go on reiterating the importance of the storm-warning cablegrams sent from Manila to Hongkong, Macao, Saigon, Shanghai, and Tokio. The geographical position of the Manila Observatory gives it the great advantage over all other observatories in the Far East of being able first to detect the signs of approaching storms and transmit them to the coast of con tinental Asia and to the Japanese Empire. Experience shows that it takes two or three days, and even more, for the center of a typhoon to cross the China Sea to the Asiatic seaboard, and if the track of the storm curves round to the northeast, from three to ten days, and some times more, elapse before the center of the typhoon reaches Japan. It is evident, therefore, that the storm warnings of the Manila Obser vatory are of the utmost advantage to the whole Asiatic and Japanese coast line from Singapore up to Yokohama. This is the reason why the local governments of Hongkong, Saigon, Macao, Shanghai, and the government of Japan are so much interested in the transmission by cable of the typhoon warnings of the Manila Observatory.