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Cyclones of the Bay of Bengal
Every year, about eighty tropical cyclones originate over the
oceans of the world. Out of these, about twelve are created
over the North Indian Ocean, in the Bay of Bengal, and the
Arabian Sea.
South Asia besieged
The Bay of Bengal is surrounded by land on
three sides. Due to this, the storm surges are
much higher than those in an open sea.
A storm surge is water that is pushed towards
the shore by the force of the winds swirling
around the storm. The countries near the Bay
of Bengal are India, Bangladesh, Myanmar,
Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
Whirling vortices
The oldest and worst cyclone Dhanuskodi, a town in the
recorded in India struck Kolkata in Rameswaram district, India,
West Bengal in 1737. was wiped off from the map by
a cyclone in 1964!
With no proper warning system,
people were caught unawares when
twelve-metre-high storm surges
flooded the city. Three hundred
thousand people lost their lives.
In 1991, when a super cyclone
approached Bangladesh, people
got only a few hours to reach
safer places. A lot of them did not
listen to the warning and stayed in
their houses. The great cyclone hit
Chittagong city with wind speeds of
260 kilometres per hour and storm
surges that were six metres high.
In October 1999, a super cyclone hit
the state of Orissa, India. It lasted
for twenty-four hours. Wind speeds
reached 260 kilometres per hour,
and twenty million people were
affected.
TICKER Cyclone Sidr struck India and Bangladesh in 2007. It destroyed a quarter of the Sunderbans,
Every year, about eighty tropical cyclones originate over the
oceans of the world. Out of these, about twelve are created
over the North Indian Ocean, in the Bay of Bengal, and the
Arabian Sea.
South Asia besieged
The Bay of Bengal is surrounded by land on
three sides. Due to this, the storm surges are
much higher than those in an open sea.
A storm surge is water that is pushed towards
the shore by the force of the winds swirling
around the storm. The countries near the Bay
of Bengal are India, Bangladesh, Myanmar,
Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
Whirling vortices
The oldest and worst cyclone Dhanuskodi, a town in the
recorded in India struck Kolkata in Rameswaram district, India,
West Bengal in 1737. was wiped off from the map by
a cyclone in 1964!
With no proper warning system,
people were caught unawares when
twelve-metre-high storm surges
flooded the city. Three hundred
thousand people lost their lives.
In 1991, when a super cyclone
approached Bangladesh, people
got only a few hours to reach
safer places. A lot of them did not
listen to the warning and stayed in
their houses. The great cyclone hit
Chittagong city with wind speeds of
260 kilometres per hour and storm
surges that were six metres high.
In October 1999, a super cyclone hit
the state of Orissa, India. It lasted
for twenty-four hours. Wind speeds
reached 260 kilometres per hour,
and twenty million people were
affected.
TICKER Cyclone Sidr struck India and Bangladesh in 2007. It destroyed a quarter of the Sunderbans,
