[ Home ]  [ Hazards & Disasters ] [ Natural Events ]
Cyclones
Cyclones
are hurricanes (wind speed exceeds 73mph) that are generated in the
Indian Ocean. Circulating winds under 39mph are called tropical depression,
winds reaching 39 to 73mph are classified as tropical storms.
1737 October 7 India, Bay of Bengal: a cyclone destroyed 20,000
ships in the densely populated area with a huge amount of shipping and
trade; it is estimated that more than 300,000 people died.
1789 December India, City of Coringa: three tidal waves caused
by a cyclone destroyed the harbor city at the mouth of the Ganges river.
Most ships were sunk and estimated 20,000 people drowned
1839 November India, City Coringa: a gigantic 40-foot tidal wave
caused by an enormous cyclone wiped out the harbor city that was never
entirely rebuilt; 20,000 vessels in the bay were destroyed and 300,000
people died.
1864 October 5th., India: most of
calcutta denuded by cyclone, 70,000 killed
1876 October
31 India, Megna River Delta, City of Backergunge: a tidal wave caused
by a cyclone flooded the river delta; some areas became covered with
40 feet of water. 100,000 people drowned and another 100,000 are reported
to have perished from subsequent diseases caused by polluted water.
1942
October 16th., India cyclone devastated Bengal, about 40,000 lives
lost
1960
October 10th., East
Pakistan: cyclone and tidal wave killed about 6,000
1963
May 20-23rd., East Pakistan: cyclone killed about 22,000 along coast
1965
11-12th. May and June 1-2nd., East Pakistan: cyclone killed about
47,000
1965
December 15th., Karachi, Pakistan: cyclone killed about 10,000
1967 October
12th. India, State of Orissa: massive cyclone struck the rural state
consisting of small villages; basically all life (human and animal) and
each structure was wiped out; the precise number of fatalities and destruction
is unknown.
1970
November 12-13th., East Pakistan: cyclone and tidal waves killed
200,000 and another 100,000 were resported missing
1971 September 29th., Orissa State, India:
cyclone and tidal wave off Bay of Bengal killed as many as 10,000
1974 December
20th- 24th. Northwestern Australia, Darwin: Cyclone "Tracy"
was first detected as a depression in the Arafura Sea. It moved slowly
southwest and intensified, passing close to Bathurst Island, then turned
sharply east-southeastward, and headed straight at Darwin, striking the
city early on Christmas Day. The combination of extremely powerful winds
and the loose design of many structures led to widespread destruction
of buildings, infrastructure, and utilities; 65 people died (49 in the
city and 16 at sea).
1974 December 25th. Darwin, Australia:
cyclone destroyed nearly the entire city, causing mass evacuation; 50
reported dead
1977 November 19th. Andhra Pradesh,
India: cyclone and tidal wave claimed lives of 20,000
1985 May
25th. Bangladesh,
Meghna River delta: a cyclone with winds of over 100mph created a surge
15-to 20-foot high that impacted a 400-square-mile area, mainly islands
located in the mouth of the river; 10,000 people and 500,000 head of cattle
died; hundreds of thousands were left homeless.
1991 April 31st., southeastern Bangladesh:
cyclone killed over 131,000 and left as many as 9 million homeless. Thousands of
survivors died from hunger and water borne disease
1996 November
6th. India, State of Andhra Pradesh: a cyclone that was headed for
the neighboring Krisdhna district make an unexpected turn toward the Godavari
river delta; with winds of up to 100mph it sent a massive surge inland
at high speed; 1,600 people died and tens of thousands were rendered homeless.
1997, May 19th. Bangladesh: affected
more than 5 million people, devastated farmland, cattle and other livestock,
about 500 people died
1999 October 29th. India, eastern state of Orissa: Supercyclone
with wind gusts up to 190mph and waves of up to 15 feet in height crashed
into the 85 mile of coastal stretch and caused devastation in the districts
of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Suttack, and Jaipur. Transportation
routes, infrastructure, public buildings including schools and hospitals,
communication lines, utilities, and thousands of acres of farmland were
destroyed. More than 9,500 people died, 2.5 million became homeless,
four hundred thousand head of livestock had drowned, and the damage
estimation reached US $3.5 billion.
|
