1971 Odisha cyclone

The 1971 Odisha cyclone was a devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Indian state of Odisha (was known as Orissa) on October 29, 1971. The cyclone also affected another Indian state of West Bengal and East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), which has been devastated by 1970 Bhola cyclone just less than a year prior and was in the middle of Bangladesh Liberation War.

1971 Odisha cyclone
Extremely severe cyclonic storm (IMD scale)
Category 3 tropical cyclone (SSHWS)
1971 Odisha cyclone, pictured by ESSA 9 weather satellite
FormedOctober 27, 1971
DissipatedOctober 31, 1971
Highest winds3-minute sustained: 165 km/h (105 mph)
1-minute sustained: 185 km/h (115 mph)
Lowest pressure966 hPa (mbar); 28.53 inHg
Fatalities≥ 10,000 total
Areas affectedIndia and East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh)
Part of the 1971 North Indian Ocean cyclone season

Meteorological history
Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale

This tropical cyclone formed on October 26. Then the cyclone underwent rapid intensification which became an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm and Category 3 equivalent cyclone in one and ten minute mean windspeed on 29 October. The storm's central pressure was 966 hPa at that time. In its peak intensity, the storm crossed Orissa coast near Paradip early in the morning of October 30 and dissipated by the same day.[1] It then curved Northeast and dissipated on October 31.

Impact

The cyclone struck Cuttack, a city in Odisha on October 30,[2] and dissipated within the same day. The storm surge flooded low lying areas of the Odisha coast resulting in more than 10,000 deaths and killed 50,000 cattle. [3] Hundreds of thousands of tree were uprooted. The cyclone destroyed more than 800,000 houses. Communications and power lines were cut for days, pre venting news of the disaster from reaching the outside world. Coastal districts of Orissa like Bhadrak, Balasore, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur were widely affected by this cyclone as gust winds recorded to be upto 175 kmph there.

See also

References
  1. "Historical records of Severe Cyclones which formed in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall at the eastern coast of India during the period from 1970-1999". India Meteorological Department. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  2. "Essay on Super Cyclone in Orissa". preservearticles.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  3. "History of Cyclone". Odisha State Disaster Management Authories. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
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