Cyclones before 'Amphan' that wrecked India's coast

Indian sub-continent is the worst affected region of the world due to cyclones with a coastline of 7,516 kms. More cyclones occur in the Bay of Bengal than the Arabian Sea and the ratio is approximately 4:1.

 

 

Cyclone "Fani" was termed as an extremely severe cyclonic storm that hit the Indian state of Odisha last year.

It left behind a trail of destruction killing over 40 people, uprooting trees and communication system and crippling the state’s economy and normal life.

"Fani" rapidly intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm and reached its peak intensity on May 2, as a high-end extremely severe cyclonic storm. It was equivalent to a high-end Category 4 major hurricane.

Extremely severe cyclonic storm Phailin was the most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall in India since the 1999 Odisha cyclone. The system was first noted as a tropical depression on October 4, 2013, within the Gulf of Thailand, to the west of Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

Over the next few days, it moved westwards within an area of low to moderate vertical wind shear, before as it passed over the Malay Peninsula, it thereafter moved out of the Western Pacific Basin on October 6. The death toll in this cyclone stood at 45.

Cyclone Hudhud was a strong tropical cyclone, which caused damage to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Visakhapatnam or Vizag along with Odisha was mostly affected by Hudhud. At least 124 people lost their lives as strong winds and heavy rain swept across the state bringing in massive destruction.

Cyclone Vardah brought heavy rainfall to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and then crossed the eastern coast of India and affected Chennai, Kancheepuram and Visakhapatnam. 38 people lost their lives in the aftermath of the cyclone.

Originating as a low-pressure area near the Malay Peninsula on December 3, the storm designated a depression on December 6. It gradually intensified into a Deep Depression on the following day, skirting off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and intensified into a Cyclonic Storm on December 8.

Cyclonic storm Nilam was the deadliest tropical cyclone to directly affect South India since Cyclone Jal in 2010.

It made landfall near Mahabalipuram on October 31 as a strong cyclonic storm with peak winds of 85 km/h (50 mph). In Chennai's Marina Beach, strong winds pushed piles of sand ashore and seawater reached nearly a 100 m (330 ft) inland.

Schools and colleges in the city remained closed for more than three days. The death toll in this cyclone was recorded at 75.

Cyclonic storm Phyan developed as a tropical disturbance to the southwest of Colombo in Sri Lanka on November 4, 2009.

Over the next couple of days, the disturbance gradually developed before weakening, as it made landfall on southern India on November 7.

Cyclone Phyan caused heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Phyan was one of the wettest cyclones in India and brought extremely heavy rainfall of over the coasts of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.

The 1999 Odisha cyclone was the strongest recorded tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean and among the most destructive in the region.

It organized into a tropical depression in the Andaman Sea on October 25. The disturbance gradually strengthened as it took a west-northwesterly path, reaching cyclonic storm strength the next day.

The storm maintained its intensity as it made landfall in Odisha on October 29. The cyclone steadily weakened due to persistent land interaction and dry air, remaining quasi-stationary for two days before slowly drifting offshore as a much weaker system; the storm dissipated on November 4 over the Bay of Bengal.

The devastation led to 15,000 deaths and displaced thousands. Damage sustained to various sanitation infrastructure led to a heightened risk of communicable disease outbreaks including diarrhea and cholera which saw increased incidences following the storm. '

Within a month of the cyclone's landfall, the Odisha state government reported 22,296 cases of diarrheal disorders.

Cyclone Ockhi was the most intense and one of the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Ockhi from the Arabian Sea affected mainland India along with coastal areas of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. A total of 245 people were killed as an impact of this cyclone, other than a massive trail of destruction throughout the affected states.