Tropical Cyclone - April 1991, Bangladesh
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On 29 April 1991 a Category 4 tropical cyclone struck the Chittagong region in SE Bangladesh with maximum windspeeds of 193 km/h1,2. The cyclone was one of the most severe storms to strike Bangladesh in the twentieth century and left over 10 million people homeless. The cyclone also drove a 6 m high storm surge that impacted the districts of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Barisal, Noakhali, Patuakhali, Barguna and Kutubdia3,2.
Although 2 million people were evacuated from coastal regions, the death toll was high due to the majority of residents in the Chittagong region receiving little warning of the impending cyclone1.
For three to four weeks after the storm had dissipated, mass land erosion resulted in the loss of agricultural land and led to unemployment1.
1 Wikipedia. 2007. 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Bangladesh_cyclone
2 Khalil, G. 1992. Cyclones and Storm Surges in Bangladesh: Some Mitigative Measures. Natural Hazards. Vol. 6, pp 11-24
3 Karim, N. 1994. Disasters in Bangladesh. Natural Hazards. Vol. 11, pp 247-258
4 Khalil, G. 1993. The Catastrophic Cyclone of April 1991: It's Impact on the Economy of Bangladesh. Natural Hazards. Vol. 8, pp 261-281
Event overview table
| No. Deaths | 145,000 |
| No. Injured | 138,894 |
| No. Affected | 15,000,000 |
| Houses destroyed | 1,000,000 |
| Houses damaged | 910,000 |
| Other damage |
- 180 km embankments |
| Economic cost | $1,500,000,000 |