Tropics
Deadliest Tropical Cyclone on Record Hit Bangladesh 56 Years Ago Today
By Ryan Hall, Y'all Weather Desk ยท Published
Written by our automated news desk from National Weather Service data.
Key points
- The number is an estimate. The WMO's weather extremes archive lists about 300,000 deaths. The WMO's own 50th-anniversary article puts the range at 300,000 to 500,000.
- Water, not wind, did most of the killing. The WMO says most deaths came from the storm surge, the wall of ocean water pushed onto land.
- The lesson is to take storm surge seriously. If you live near saltwater, find out whether you are in an evacuation zone before a storm is on the map. When you are told to leave for surge, go.
- No named storms are active today. You can check anytime on our tropics page, see every live alert on the warnings page, and sign up for free Y'all Alerts.
A cyclone came ashore on the Bay of Bengal coast of what was then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, on Nov. 12-13, 1970. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) lists it as the deadliest tropical cyclone on record, with an estimated 300,000 deaths. Most of those deaths came from a large storm surge.
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Sources
https://ryanhallyall.com/news/deadliest-tropical-cyclone-on-record-hit-bangladesh-56-years-ago-today