Deadliest cyclones to have hit India in recent decades

With Cyclone Biparjoy expected to make landfall soon, we take a look at some of the deadliest cyclones to have hit India in the recent past.

Severe cyclonic storm 'Biparjoy' is likely to hit Gujarat and southern parts of Pakistan this week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.

Biparjoy, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135 km per hour (78-84 mph) gusting up to 150 kph, is expected to make landfall on Thursday between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan, it has said.

Here is a look at some of the deadliest cyclones that have hit India recently, increasing the government's focus on disaster preparedness over the years.

May 2021, Gujarat:

More than 100 people - most of them in Gujarat - were killed and scores more reported missing when an 'extremely severe cyclone', named Tauktae, hit the western state, packing gusts of up to 210 km per hour.

May 2019, Odisha:

Almost 100 people were killed when the strongest cyclone to hit India in five years, named Fani, made landfall in Odisha. Authorities said many more would have died if 1.2 million people had not been evacuated before the cyclone struck.

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October 1999, Odisha:

A 'super cyclonic storm' crossed the Odisha coast near Paradip with a wind speed of 260 km per hour at the time of landfall, killing 9,885 people and injuring 2,142, according to official estimates.

June 1998, Gujarat:

A 'very severe cyclonic storm' crossed the Gujarat coast near Porbandar with an intensity of 167 km per hour at the time of landfall, killing 1,173 people with another 1,774 reported missing, according to official data. Media reports, however, suggested at least 4,000 people were killed.

November 1977, Andhra Pradesh:

In 1977, an unnamed tropical cyclone barrelled through the state of Andhra Pradesh with 3-minute sustained wind speeds of 230 km per hour. As it made landfall, the island of Diviseema was hit by a seven-metre-high storm surge that left thousands dead in its wake. The Krisha River delta region was also adversely affected. By the time the storm had dissipated, over 10,000 lives were lost, as per official estimates. Some other estimates, however, put the total number of dead and missing to over 50,000.

November 1970, West Bengal:

One of the deadliest cyclones on record, Cyclone Bhola devastated the East Pakistan (now, Bangladesh) region as well as West Bengal, leaving as many as 3 lakh people dead in its wake. While the exact death toll from Cyclone Bhola was never confirmed, some estimates put the figure to be as high as 5 lakh.

(With inputs from Reuters)