1970 Bhola cyclone
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The Bhola cyclone was a powerful tropical cyclone that made landfall in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) on 13 November, 1970. It is the deadliest known tropical cyclone of all time; an estimated 500,000 people lost their lives, mostly through drowning.
Landfall
On the night of 12 November a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal was approaching the coast of East Pakistan. Winds believed to be in excess of 120 mph (190 km/h), combined with an exceptionally high storm surge of 15 to 20 feet (5 to 6 m), drove a tidal surge into the low lying, densely populated region in the early hours of the morning. The result was widespread flooding, with many people drowning in their sleep.
The official death toll was put at 500,000, with 100,000 people missing [link], making it the deadliest tropical cyclone on record. Many estimates put the figure higher. It is also one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern times, being comparable to the 1976 Tangshan earthquake and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (due to uncertainty over death tolls, it may never be known for sure which of these natural disasters was the deadliest).
The highest loss of life and destruction occurred on the low lying islands of the Ganges Delta south of Dhaka. The island and district of Bhola (where casualties may have exceeded 100,000) was particularly impacted, with the towns of Charfasson and Tazumuddin being devastated. The city of Chittagong was also badly affected.
The Bay of Bengal is particularly vulnerable to cyclone disasters. The next most comparable disaster in the area was the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone which killed over 140,000 people.
Aftermath
The poor response of the Pakistani government in the aftermath of the storm was a major contributing factor that lead to the Bangladesh Liberation War in the spring of 1971.See also
- redirect[[Template:Portal]]
External links
- [Data on Bangladesh disasters] from NIRAPAD disaster response organisation.
- [On this day - liketelevision]
- [Islam Online - Disaster Victims]
- [UNISYS 1970 tracks]
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