Tyler Gaucher
Period A
Cyclones
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
East Pakistan,
Pakistan (now
Bangladesh)
1.
500,000
1970 Bhola cyclone
2.
300,000
1839 Indian cyclone
India
3.
300,000
1737 Calcutta cyclone
India
4.
210,000
5.
200,000
6.
146,000
Super Typhoon Nina—
contributed to Banqiao Dam
failure
Great Backerganj Cyclone of
1876
Cyclone Nargis
7.
138,866
1991 Bangladesh cyclone
Bangladesh
8.
100,000
1882 Bombay cyclone
Bombay, India
9.
60,000
1922 Swatow Typhoon
China
10.
60,000
1864 Calcutta Cyclone
India
China
present day
Bangladesh
Myanmar
Date
November
13, 1970
November
25, 1839
October 7,
1737
August 7,
1975
October 30,
1876
May 2, 2008
April 29,
1991
1882
August 1,
1922
October 5,
1864
1.
This cyclone was the sixth cyclonic storm of the 1970 North Indian Ocean cyclone season and also the season’s
strongest. It reached strength equal to that of a Category 3 hurricane.

Over $490 million (USD 2009) of damage occurred. Approximately 85% of homes in the area were
destroyed or severely damaged, with the greatest destruction along the coast.

The storm surge wiped out villages with the most severely affected area, Tazumuddin, losing over 45% of its
population (167,000 people) in the district of Thana alone.

Nearly 46,000 of the estimated 77,000 fishermen of the region perished in the cyclone, and those that
survived were severly injured. Approximately 65% of the coastal region’s fishing industry was destroyed, in a
region where about 80% of the protein consumed comes from fisheries.


In the 20th century, seven of the nine most deadly weather events in the world were tropical cyclones that
struck Bangladesh. On April 30, 1991, another severe cyclone, packing winds of 145-160 mph and another 6 m
(20 ft)-storm surge, hit Bangladesh, drowning 140,000 people. By this time, warning and evacuation systems in
the area had advanced to the point where several million people could be evacuated ahead of the storm;
otherwise, the death toll is predicted to have been much higher.
2.
This storm caused the third largest loss of life from any tropical cyclone worldwide, tied with Vietnam’s 1881
Haiphong typhoon (also causing 300,000 fatalities). Storms in the Bay of Bengal actually account for seven of
the 10 deadliest hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones in recorded history.

Henry Piddington, an official of the British East India Company, coined the term cyclone sometime around
1840 after looking at the destruction caused in 1789 and 1839 by a “swirling circle.”
3.
India’s Ganges River Delta is prone to tropical cyclones. Additional cyclones with death tolls reported over
10,000 people struck again in 1787, 1789, 1822, 1833, 1839, 1864, 1876, and later.

Dispute over the actual date of the cyclone has occurred, as the British Empire had not yet converted to the
Gregorian calendar system at that time (it was adopted in 1752). Some accounts of the storm report it occurring
30 September, which corresponds to 11 October when converted to the Gregorian system.
4.
When the dams were first constructed, cracks and separations appeared. They were then repaired, reinforced
and expanded with the help of Soviet engineers. In return the new design was referred to as the “iron dam” and
was mistakenly considered to be unbreakable.

The Banqiao Dam was built to resist a 1000-year flood, estimated to be 300 mm (11.8 in) in one day. The
rainwater from Nina, which fell up to a record rate of 189.5 mm (7.5 in) per hour, was recorded as a 2000-year
flood.

The rate at which the Banqiao Dam emptied is the equivalent of 31.5 Olympic swimming pools emptying per
second.

The Shimantan Dam was built to withstand a 500-year flood, and had a flood storage capacity of 70.4 million
cubic meters (the equivalent of 28.2 thousand Olympic swimming pools) and a height of 109.7 m (360 ft). By the
second day the water in the dam had already reached 112.9 m (370.4 ft). When the dam burst, it had already
withstood more than twice its engineered capacity.

The total volume of water spilled from broken dams as a result of Typhoon Nina would cover the entire state
Vermont in 618 millimeters (24.3 inches) of standing water. (Or NY state with 111 millimeters [4.4 inches]).
5.
The flood-ravaged Australian state of Queensland is in the path of Cyclone Yasi, a "life-threatening" category five
storm. Image 1 of 3 Photo: REUTERS Image 1 of 3 Sand bags are seen in front of a shop in Townsville,
Queensland, Australia, ahead of the expected arrival of Cyclone Yasi Photo: GETTY Image 1 of 3 In May 2008
Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, packing winds of up to 133mph
6.
More than half of all households in the affected region reported the loss of all food stocks during the cyclone,
indicating that they will likely be dependent on humanitarian food deliveries until local farmers produce a
complete harvest. It is estimated that 924,000 people will require food aid.
Half of the summer rice crop was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis. Though efforts to replant in time for the fall
harvest have been vigorous, it is estimated that only 25% of villages had enough existing seed stock to plant.
Production losses due to the cyclone range from 40-70% of pre-Nargis levels. Assistance with agricultural inputs is
expected to be needed for at least the next two harvests.

Fifty percent of water buffalo and 25% of cattle died in the worst-affected regions of the delta. Small
livestock such as chickens, pigs, ducks, and sheep had much higher mortality rates. The lack of livestock not only
affects food security, but also deprives farmers of the animals necessary to plow their fields.

The cyclone destroyed over 130,000 boats, depriving communities not only of the means to fish, but also of
their transportation and communication systems.

The storm destroyed 450,000 houses, while a further 350,000 sustained some type of damage. Though 80%
of delta residents have temporarily rebuilt homes, the availability of construction materials such as thatch and
bamboo will necessitate the use of temporary housing for many through 2009.

Sixty-three percent of residents in the affected parts of the delta have inadequate access to clean water, due
largely to the salinization of ponds and other water sources. This has led to a shift towards rainwater collection as
the primary water source for most families.

Cyclone Nargis destroyed close to 75% of all health facilities in the delta. The biggest impact was on primary
health facilities in rural areas.
7. The weather system originated in the Bay of Bengal and began moving north. By April 24 the storm was
designated Tropical Storm 02B, and by April 28 it was a tropical cyclone. One day later the storm hit south of
Chittagong, with winds of up to 150 miles (240 km) per hour. The damage was immediate, as a storm surge as high
as 15 feet (5 metres) engulfed the flat, coastal plans of southeastern Bangladesh. The surge washed away entire
villages and swamped farms, destroying crops and spreading fears of widespread hunger as well as economic woes.
Worries were exacerbated by the memory of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta (“Bhola”) cyclone of 1970, which had
taken the lives of as many as 500,000 people in what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). As a result of the
1970 storm, a few storm shelters had been built. Though in 1991 some were saved by the shelters, many people had
doubted warnings of the storm or had been given inadequate warning.
8. Often referred to as one of the 'Top Ten Worst Hurricanes in the World', the Bombay Cyclone took place on June
6, 1882.
The cyclone began over the Arabian Sea as a result of a hurricane in progress. Once it reached India's shores, the
water and winds were unleashed upon the harbors and villages, killing over 100,000 people in the process.
Given the swift confluence of events, the year, and lack of photo journalism in the area, not much is actually known
about the Bombay Cyclone of 1882. All that sources can be sure of is the date, where it took place, and
approximately how many people died that day.
9. The Swatow Typhoon was first spotted July 27 near the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The typhoon moved
slowly north as it intensified. On July 31, it entered the South China Sea, crossing over northern Luzon. Late August
2, the typhoon hit the Chinese city of Swatow with the winds blowing at 100mph. The water levels as the storm hit
were 12ft above normal and left the land saturated with water many days after. Nearly 50,000 people were taken as
the storm swept over Swatow. Ships were blown as far as 2 miles north and many other ships were destroyed. The
total death toll was around 60,000 people. This typhoon was one of the deadliest typhoons in the northern Pacific
Ocean, but not near the top of our list.
10. The 1864 Calcutta cyclone struck and caused extensive damage the city of Calcutta in India on 5th October 1864
shortly after 10 am. The entire city of Calcutta was flooded. The flooding occurred when the typhoon entered the
narrow valley of the Hooghly River near the city. This caused the waters of the river to rise and fill the valley and
overflow into the city. The city, the harbor and the surrounding area ware flooded and damaged.
The typhoon killed 60,000 people and many more died later from sicknesses and diseases that followed. 172 out of
195 ships in the harbor at that time were destroyed or damaged.
The 1864 Calcutta cyclone was a tropical cyclone common in Asian countries especially Bangladesh, India and
Pakistan. A tropical cyclone is a storm system produced by a low pressure center and thunderstorms associated with
strong winds and flooding rain. It is perpetuated by heat released when moist air rises resulting in condensation of
water vapor. Depending on the its location and strength a tropical cyclone may be referred to as hurricane, typhoon,
tropical storm, cyclonic storm or tropical depression. The 1864 Calcutta cyclone was classified as a typhoon due to its
strength measured by the scale of damage it caused.
The 1864 Calcutta cyclone came with extremely powerful winds and torrential rain. The winds produced high waves
and damaging storm surge. It caused heavy damage along the coast and significant flooding inland.
Most cyclones develop over the sea and can be noticed weeks before it strikes land. Unfortunately ways of defusing
cyclones before they strike land has not been devised. The 1864 Calcutta cyclone affected such a large area that the
population could not be moved away before it struck.