April 29 in History
1991 – A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of southeaster Bangladesh with winds of around 155 miles per hour, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as ten million homeless
The 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, among the deadliest tropical cyclones on record, made landfall in the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh on this day in 1991, causing at least 138,866 deaths and about US$1.7 billion (1991 USD) in damage.
The cyclone made landfall in southeastern Bangladesh around the time of high tide, which was already 5.5 m (18 ft) above normal; in addition, the cyclone produced a 6.1 m (20 ft) storm surge that inundated the coastline. The storm also brought winds of around 240 km/h (150 mph) that lashed a populated region of the coast for about 12 hours, as well as 12 offshore islands.
An estimated 138,866 people were killed by the cyclone. With more than 20,000 people dying on Kutubdia Upazila, an island offshore Chittagong where 80–90% of homes were destroyed, and all livestock were killed. Some smaller offshore islands lost their entire populations. There were around 25,000 dead in Chittagong, and 40,000 dead in Banshkali. About 13.4 million people were affected. Around 1 million homes were destroyed, leaving 10 million people homeless. The storm surge caused whole villages to be swept away.
The high-velocity wind and the storm surge devastated the coastline. Although a concrete levee was in place near the mouth of the Karnaphuli River in Patenga, it was washed away by the storm surge. A large number of boats and smaller ships ran aground. The Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force, both of which had bases in Chittagong, were also heavily hit. The Isha Khan Naval Base at Patenga was flooded, with heavy damage to the ships. Most of the fighter planes belonging to the Air Force were damaged. The extensive damage caused the price of building materials to greatly increase. For an additional three to four weeks after the storm had dissipated, mass land erosion resulted in more and more farmers losing their land, and therefore, the number of unemployed rose. In several areas, up to 90% of crops had been washed away. The shrimp farms and salt industry were left devastated.
-Wikipedia
Photo Caption – Flooding around the Karnaphuli River in Bangladesh – Wikipedia
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.