Cyclone Mora makes landfall: Here are the other Bay of Bengal cyclones that wreaked havoc in the past

Cyclone Mora hit Bangladesh on Tuesday, packing winds of up to 135 kilometres (84 miles) per hour, damaging thousands of homes as more than 300,000 people fled coastal villages.

The severe storm made landfall on the coast between Cox’s Bazar and the main port city of Chittagong at 6 am (0000 GMT), the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said.

No immediate casualties were reported but there was major damage in many towns and villages. Authorities evacuated more than 300,000 people to cyclone shelters after raising the highest number 10 weather danger alert as the storm approached. Authorities had planned to make one million people leave their villages.

“They have been evacuated to at least 400 cyclone shelters, schools and government offices in the coastal areas,” said Golam Mostofa, the senior official coordinating the evacuation.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, it is expected to intensify into a ‘severe cyclonic storm’ over the next 24 hours.

Here’s a look at the cyclones that have hit India in the past:

Cyclone Vardah, 2016 

The cyclone originated in the west central Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Chennai in December 2016. In Tamil Nadu, 16 people lost their lives, while 2 were killed in Chitoor in Andhra Pradesh. There was severe damage to property in both states and Chennai’s green-cover took a hit.

Cyclone Roanu, 2016 

Parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha saw torrential downpour. There were some flood-like situations in North Eastern states such as Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, lower Assam and Meghalaya. The storm was responsible for 201 deaths in Sri Lanka and another 26 deaths in Bangladesh.

Cyclone Hudhud, 2014

The cyclone originated in the Andaman Sea in May 2014 and led to 124 deaths in Andhra Pradesh, Vishakhapatnam. The cyclone also affected Uttar Pradesh and Nepal as heavy rains and floods were caused by it.

Cyclone Phailin, 2013

Over 23 people died in the 2013 cyclone that affected the regions of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Cyclone Thane, 2011

Initially developed as a ’tropical disturbance’, the cyclone came ashore in southeastern India in late December 2011, killing at least 47 people, flattening homes, destroying crops, and leaving tens of thousands in need of emergency aid. The cyclone formed on 25 December, 2011 and evolved into a full cyclone by 28 December and when it made landfall, it brought with it, high wind speeds. Over 70 fishermen went missing in the storm from different parts off the Andhra Pradesh coast.

Odisha supercylone, 1999

More than 15,000 people were killed in Odisha, and the lives of two crore lives were disrupted by this cyclone. In fact the wind speeds were so high that the anemometer, a device used for measuring wind speed, at the IMD office and at Paradip had failed to record it, according to this report.

Click on this link to read more about Cyclone Mora and track it