Historical records of 12 most devastating cyclones, which formed in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall on the East coast of India
S.No | Date/ Year | Category of cyclone | Landfall and Relevant Information |
1. | 7-12 October, 1737 | Super Cyclone* | Crossed West Bengal coast over Sunderbans Surge height: 12 m Loss of life: 300,000 |
2. | 31 October, 1831 | Very Severe Cyclonic Storm* | Crossed Orissa coast near Balasore Surge Height: 2-5 m Loss and Damage: People Killed=22,000, Cattleheads lost=50,000 |
3. | 2-5 October, 1864 | Very Severe Cyclonic Storm* | Cross the coast near Contai, West Bengal Surge Height: The wave in many places rose to 9 m The Maximum height of the waves reached 12 m At Sagar Island it was 5 m above land level. At Diamond Harbour, the wave was 3 m Loss and Damage: People Killed=50,000 (mostly due to drowning), and 30,000 (due to diseases as a result of inundation) |
4. | 1-2 November, 1864 | Severe Cyclonic Storm* | Crossed Andhra Pradesh coast near Machili-patnam Surge-Height: 4 m Loss and Damage: People Killed=30,000 |
5. | 22 September, 1885 | Super Cyclone* | Crossed Orissa coast at False Point, Central pressure: 919 hPa, Surge Height: 7 m Loss of Life: 5000 |
6. | 14-16 October, 1942 | Severe Cyclonic Storm | Crossed West Bengal coast near Contai Surge Height: 3-5 m Loss and Damage: People Killed=19,000, Cattleheads killed=60,000 |
7. | 8-11 October, 1967 | Severe Cyclonic Storm | Crossed Orissa coast between Puri and Paradip on the morning of 9 October and then crossed Bangladesh coast during the night of 10-11 October Loss and Damage: People Killed=1,000, Cattleheads lost=50,000; property of few crores of rupees damaged |
8. | 26-30 October, 1971 | Severe Cyclonic Storm | Crossed Orissa coast near Paradip early morning of 30 October Maximum Wind: 150-170 kmph (81-92 kts) Surge height: 4-5 m, north of Chandbali Loss and Damage: People killed=10,000; Cattleheads lost=50,000; Houses damaged=8,00,000 |
9. | 14-20 November, 1977 | Super Cyclone* | Crossed Andhra coast near Nizamparnam at 1730 IST on 19 November Maximum wind: Ongole recorded 102 kmph (55 kts); Machilipatnam recorded 120 kmph (65 kts); Gannavaram recorded 139 kmph (75 kts) Surge Height: 5 m Intensity: T 7.0 Maximum estimated wind speed: 260 kmph (140 kts) Loss and Damage: People killed=10,000; Cattleheads lost=27,000; Damage to crops and other property was estimated to be around Rs. 350 crores. |
10. | 4-11 May, 1990 | Super Cyclone* | Crossed Andhra coast at about 40 km south west of Machilipatnam around 1900 IST of 9 May Maximum wind: Machilipatnam recorded 102 kmph (55 kts); Gannavaram recorded 93 kmph (50 kts) Surge height:4-5m Intensity: T 6.5 Maximum estimated wind speed : 235 kmph (126 kts) Loss and damage: People killed=967; the estimated cost of the damages to crops and properties= Rs.2,248 crore |
11. | 5-6 November, 1996 | Very Severe Cyclonic Storm* | Crossed Andhra coast near Kakinada at midnight of 6 November Maximum wind: 200 kmph (108 kts ) Surge height:3-4 m Loss and damage: People killed=2000; People missing=900;crops destroyed in 3,20,000 hectares of land; house destroyed=10,000 Estimate of the loss for crops= Rs.150 crores |
12. | 25-31 November, 1999 | Super Cyclone | Crossed Orissa coast near Paradip at noon of 29 October Maximum wind: 260 kmph (140 kts); Bhubaneshwar recorded 148 kmph (80 kts) Surge height : 6-7m Intensity : T 7.0 Loss and damage : People killed=8,960; People injured = 2,142; cattleheads perished=3,70,297; Paddy crops in 16,17,000 hectares and other crops in 33,000 hectares damaged. |
*Severe Cyclonic Strom with core of hurricane winds as per earlier categorization