At least 12 major tropical cyclones hit the country since 1965, leaving 479,490 people dead.
According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Bangladesh was one of the worst sufferers of cyclones in terms of casualties.
Cyclones always come with storm surges causing the heavy casualties, said the ministry’s cyclone preparedness plan published in March 2016.
Records of the last 200 years show that at least 70 major cyclones have hit the coastal belt region of our country. The cyclones claimed the lives of several lakh people in the country.
Here are some of the severe tropical cyclones that hit Bangladesh since 1965.
Bhola Cyclone (November 11, 1970): The cyclone claimed the lives of at least 300,000 people in the low-lying region near the Bangladesh coast. This is the deadliest known tropical cyclone in the history of Bangladesh.
The April 1991 Cyclone: A powerful tropical cyclone struck the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh on April 29, 1991. At least 138,000 people were killed by the cyclone. It caused a damage of around $1.5 billion.
Barisal Cyclone (May 11, 1965): At least 19,279 people were killed in a cyclone that hit the coastal areas. Out of the casualties, 16,456 were in Barisal. The cyclone hit with a wind speed of about 160 km per hour associated with storm surge of 3.7-7.6 metre.
The December 1965 Cyclone: A cyclone hit the country on December 15, 1965 with a wind speed of about 217 km per hour and 2.3-3.6 metre storm surges. It claimed the lives of 873 people.
The October 1966 Cyclone: The cyclone hit the coastal area on October 1, 1966 with a wind speed of about 139 km per hour associated with storm surges of 6-7 metre. About 850 people died in the cyclone.
Urir Char Cyclone (May 25, 1985): A severe cyclone hit the country with a wind speed of 154 km per hour and 3.0-4.6 metre storm surges. At least 11,069 people were killed and 94,379 houses were damaged.
Cyclone 04B (November 30, 1988): A severe cyclonic storm struck the coastal areas with a wind speed of 162 km per hour accompanied by a storm surge of 4.5 metre. At least 5,708 people died in the storm.
May 1997 Cyclone: A cyclone with a wind speed of about 230 km per hour lashed the coastal line on May 19, 1997 killing 155 people.
Cyclone Sidr (November 15, 2007): Cyclone Sidr hit the country’s coastal belt with a wind speed of 223 km per hour that claimed the lives of 3,363 people.
Cyclone Aila (May 25, 2009): Cyclone Aila hit offshore 15 districts of southwestern part of Bangladesh with wind speed of 120 km per hour. About 150 persons were killed and 200,000 houses were damaged in the storm.
Cyclone Mahasen (May 16, 2013): Cyclone Mahasen hit near Chittagong with a wind speed of 85 km per hour. It caused death of 17 people.
Cyclone Roanu (May 21, 2016): Cyclone Roanu made landfall near Chittagong killing 26 people. Around 40,000 houses were damaged in the storm.
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