Bangladesh witnessed a number of deadly cyclones in the past decades that had serious impacts on lives and livelihoods while the latest one named “Sitrang” is approaching fast.
Cyclone Sitrang is likely to intensify further, move in a north-northeasterly direction and cross the Barishal-Chattogram coast near Khepupara by midnight Monday or early Tuesday, said the latest Met office bulletin.
Bangladesh is annually buffeted by floods, cyclones, storm surges, river bank erosion, earthquake, drought, salinity intrusion and fire but has earned praise for dealing with those natural disasters with better preparedness in place.
Here are some of the major cyclones that hit before and after the independence of Bangladesh.
1970 Bhola cyclone on November 10: The deadliest cyclone to pound the then Bangladesh killed 5,00,000 people.
1985 Urirchar cyclone (May 24-25): Over 11,000 people perished mostly in Urirchar island off Chattogram coast.
1991 cyclone in April: It hammered the offshore islands and chars of Patuakhali, Barishal, Chattogram and Noakhali killing over 140,000 people. Damages were estimated at $1.5 billion.
1965 December cyclone: The cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 217km per hour struck Cox’s Bazar, adjacent coastal areas and Patuakhali on December 15 and took the lives of 19,279 people.
1963 cyclone (May 28-29): The cyclone hit Noakhali, Cox's Bazar and offshore islands Sandwip, Kutubdia, Maheshkhali and Hatiya. It claimed the lives of around 11,520 people and caused massive destruction of properties.
1961 cyclone: The severe cyclonic storm accompanied by tidal surges hit Bagerhat and Khulna districts on May 9 and claimed the lives of 11,468 people.
1985 cyclone (May 24-25): The cyclonic storm killed about 11,000 people.
Cyclone Sidr (November 15, 2007): The cyclone killed more than 1,500 people and caused widespread damage.
