14 years of Sidr
Cyclones have been wreaking havoc in Bangladesh throughout the decades
Fourteen years ago today, on 15 November 2007, the devastating Cyclone Sidr hit southern Bangladesh causing over 3,500 deaths and severe damage.
Weather experts of the Met office said Bangladesh faces cyclones and depressions every year during pre-monsoon and post monsoon seasons due to its geographical location.
On 14 November 2007, warning signals were issued in the neighboring states of Odisha and West Bengal. On the same day, after 8pm, all activities at Mongla port in Bangladesh and at 10pm at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong were suspended.
Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (then known as Zia International Airport) came under special precautionary measures in fear of storms.
On 15 November, Sidr hit the coastal districts of Bangladesh with wind speeds of 260 kilometers per hour and caused tidal surges of 15 to 20 feet height.
Afterwards, the wind speed rose up to 305 kilometers per hour at times. Water transports were halted from Dhaka to the southern districts of the country.
No such cyclone caused damage to human lives to the extent of Sidr after 2007. It was one of the 10 fiercest cyclones that had hit the region of Bangladesh in the 110 years between 1897 and 2007.
The other nine cyclones include the "fearful 12 November, 1970" cyclone, and the cyclones of 1876, 1897, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1985, 1988 and 1991.
On 11 November, 1970, the Great Bhola Cyclone moved into Bangladesh (known as East Pakistan back that time).
The devastating storm-surge flooding produced by the storm was estimated at nearly 35 feet high. It washed the whole flat, low-lying areas and did massive destruction throughout the entire region.
The combination of storm surge and a lack of evacuation resulted in a massive death toll, estimated to be 300,000 to 500,000 people, according to a report published by Weather.com in 2019.
The 1897 Chattogram cyclonic storm killed around 175,000 people and swept over coastal villages. It was followed by the epidemic of cholera in our country, which killed about 18,000 people.
The 1960 cyclonic storm struck the country with a maximum wind speed of 210 km per hour and took the lives of around 5,149 people.
In 1961, a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 161 km per hour and surge 2.44-3.05m hit the Bagerhat and Khulna district on 9 May. It caused a fatality rate of around 11,468 people.
The 1963 cyclone hit Noakhali, Cox's Bazaar and offshore islands Saandeep, Kutubdiya, Maheshkhali and Hatiya, on 28-29 May with a maximum wind speed of 223 km per hour. It claimed the lives of around 11,520 people and caused massive destruction of properties.
In December 1965, a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 217 km per hour struck Cox Bazaar, adjacent coastal areas and Patuakhali and took the lives of around 19,279 people.
The 1985 cyclone that struck the country with a maximum wind speed of 154km per hour between 24th-25th May in Chattogram took the lives of around 11,000 people.
The 1988 severe cyclonic storm hit the coastal areas with a maximum wind speed of 162 km per hour along with a storm surge of 4.5 meters. It claimed the lives of around 11,708 people.
In 1991, between 31 May to 2 June, a super cyclonic storm hit the offshore Islands and Char of Patuakhali, Barishal, Chattogram and Noakhali with a maximum wind speed of 110 km per hour. The fatality rate was around 140,000 people with damage of approximately $1.5 billion.
