Everything about The 1970 Bhola Cyclone totally explained
The
1970 Bhola cyclone was a devastating
tropical cyclone that struck
East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh) and
India's
West Bengal on
November 12,
1970. It was the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded, and one of the deadliest
natural disasters in modern times. Up to 500,000 people lost their lives in the storm, primarily as a result of the
storm surge that flooded much of the low-lying islands of the
Ganges Delta. This cyclone was the sixth cyclonic storm of the
1970 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, and was also the most powerful, reaching a strength equivalent to a
Category 3 hurricane.
The cyclone formed over the central
Bay of Bengal on
November 8 and travelled north, intensifying as it did so. It reached its peak with winds of 185
km/h (115
mph) on
November 12, and made landfall on the coast of East Pakistan that night. The storm surge devastated many of the offshore islands, wiping out villages and destroying crops throughout the region. In the most severely affected
Thana,
Tazumuddin, over 45% of the population of 167,000 was killed by the storm.
The
Pakistani government was severely criticized for its handling of the relief operations following the storm, both by local political leaders in East Pakistan and in the international media. The opposition
Awami League gained a
landslide victory in the province, and continuing unrest between East Pakistan and the central government triggered the
Bangladesh Liberation War, which concluded with the creation of the state of Bangladesh.
Storm history
The remnants of
Tropical Storm Nora from the Pacific, which had lasted for two days in the
South China Sea, moved west over the
Malay Peninsula on November 5. The remnants of this system contributed to the development of a new depression in the central
Bay of Bengal on the morning of November 8. The depression intensified as it moved slowly northward, and the
India Meteorological Department upgraded it to a cyclonic storm the next day. The storm became nearly stationary that evening near 14.5° N, 87° E, but began to accelerate to the north on November 10.
The cyclone intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on November 11 and began to turn towards the northeast as it approached the head of the bay. A clear
eye formed in the storm, and it reached its peak later that day with sustained winds of 185
km/h (115
mph) and a central pressure of 966
hPa, equivalent to that of a Category 3 hurricane on the
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The cyclone made
landfall on the
East Pakistan coastline during the evening of November 12, around the same time as the local
high tide. Once over land, the system began to weaken but was still considered a cyclonic storm on November 13 when it was about 100 km (65 miles) south-southeast of
Agartala. The storm then rapidly weakened into a remnant area of low pressure over southern
Assam that evening. A large part of the population was reportedly taken by surprise by the storm. There were indications that the storm warning system that existed in East Pakistan wasn't used properly, which may have cost tens of thousands of lives. The
Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a report calling for "danger preparedness" in the coastal regions in danger during the day on November 12. As the storm neared the coast, a "great danger signal" was broadcast on Pakistan Radio. Survivors later said that this meant little to them, but that they'd recognised a No. 1 warning signal as representing the greatest possible threat. It is estimated that 90% of the population in the area was aware of the cyclone before it hit, but only about 1% sought refuge in fortified structures.
Following two previously
destructive cyclones in October 1960 which killed at least 16,000 people in East Pakistan, the Pakistani government contacted the American government for assistance in developing a system to avert future disasters. Gordon Dunn, the director of the
National Hurricane Center at the time, carried out a detailed study and submitted his report in 1961. However, the government didn't carry out all of the recommendations Dunn had listed. A comparable number of people died as a result of the
1976 Tangshan earthquake and the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, but because of uncertainty in the number of deaths in all three disasters, it may never be known which one was the deadliest.
India
The cyclone brought widespread rain to the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with very heavy rain falling in places on November 8 and November 9.
Port Blair recorded 130 mm (5.1 in) of rain on November 8, and there were a number of floods on the islands. The MV
Mahajagmitra, a 5,500-ton freighter en route from
Calcutta to
Kuwait, was sunk by the storm on November 12, with the loss of all 50 people on board. The ship sent out a distress signal and reported experiencing hurricane-force winds before it sank. There was also widespread rain in
West Bengal and southern
Assam. The rain caused damage to housing and crops in both
Indian states, with the worst damage occurring in the southernmost districts. Several seagoing vessels in the ports of Chittagong and
Mongla were reported damaged, and the airports at Chittagong and
Cox's Bazar were under 1 m (3 ft) of water for several hours.
Over 3.6 million people were directly affected by the cyclone, and the total damage from the storm was estimated at $86.4 million (1970
USD, $450 million 2006 USD). The survivors claimed that approximately 85% of homes in the area were destroyed or severely damaged, with the greatest destruction occurring along the coast. Ninety percent of marine fishermen in the region suffered heavy losses, including the destruction of 9,000 offshore fishing boats. Of the 77,000 onshore fishermen, 46,000 were killed by the cyclone, and 40% of the survivors were affected severely. In total, approximately 65% of the fishing capacity of the coastal region was destroyed by the storm, in a region where about 80% of the protein consumed comes from fish. Agricultural damage was similarly severe with the loss of $63 million worth of crops and 280,000
cattle.
Death toll
| Thana |
Pre-cyclone population |
Deaths |
Mortality (%) |
| Kalapara |
88,000 |
8,000 |
9 |
| Amtali |
41,000 |
2,000 |
5 |
| Galchipa |
319,000 |
45,000 |
14 |
| Char Fasson |
171,000 |
38,000 |
22 |
| Lalmohan |
104,000 |
23,000 |
22 |
| Tazumuddin |
167,000 |
77,000 |
46 |
| Hatiya |
219,000 |
18,000 |
8 |
| Ramgati |
217,000 |
24,000 |
11 |
| Sudharam |
35,000 |
6,000 |
17 |
| Total |
,361,000 |
41,000 |
7.7 |
Two medical relief surveys were carried out by the Pakistan-
SEATO Cholera Research Laboratory: the first in November and the second in February and March. The purpose of the first survey was to establish the immediate medical needs in the affected regions, and the second, more detailed, survey was designed as the basis for long-term relief and recovery planning. In the second survey, approximately 1.4% of the area's population was studied.
The first survey concluded that the surface water in most of the affected regions had a comparable salt content to that drawn from wells, except in
Sudharam, where the water was almost undrinkable with a salt content of up to 0.5%. The
mortality was estimated at 14.2%—equivalent to a death toll of 240,000. Cyclone-related
morbidity was generally restricted to minor injuries, but a phenomenon dubbed "
cyclone syndrome" was observed. This consisted of severe
abrasions on the limbs and chest caused by survivors clinging to trees to withstand the storm surge. but the survey found no evidence of an epidemic of
cholera,
smallpox or any other disease in the region affected by the storm.
The results showed that the highest survival rate was for adult males aged 15-49, while more than half the deaths were children under ten, who only formed a third of the pre-cyclone population. This suggests that the young, old and sick were selectively lost in the cyclone and its surge. In the months after the storm, the mortality of the middle-aged was lower in the cyclone area than in the
control region, near
Dhaka. This reflected the elimination of the less healthy individuals during the storm.
Aftermath
Government response
The day after the storm struck the coast, three Pakistani gunboats and a hospital ship carrying medical personnel and supplies left
Chittagong for the islands of
Hatia,
Sandwip and
Kutubdia.
Pakistani President
Yahya Khan returned from a state visit to China and overflew the disaster area on November 16. The president ordered "no effort to be spared" to relieve the victims.
In the ten days following the cyclone, one military transport aircraft and three crop-dusting aircraft were assigned to relief work by the Pakistani government. The Pakistani government said it was unable to transfer military helicopters from West Pakistan as the Indian government didn't grant clearance to cross the intervening Indian territory, a charge the Indian government denied. Yahya Khan arrived in
Dhaka to take charge of the relief operations on November 24. The governor of East Pakistan, Vice Admiral Asham, denied charges that the armed forces hadn't acted quickly enough and said supplies were reaching all parts of the disaster area except for some small pockets.
A week after the cyclone's landfall, President Khan conceded that his government had made "slips" and "mistakes" in its handling of the relief efforts. He said there was a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the disaster. He also said that the general election slated for December 7 would take place on time, although eight or nine of the worst affected districts might experience delays, denying rumours that the election would be postponed.
Criticism of government response
Political leaders in East Pakistan were deeply critical of the central government's initial response to the disaster. A statement released by eleven political leaders in
East Pakistan ten days after the cyclone hit charged the government with "gross neglect, callous indifference and utter indifference". They also accused the president of playing down the news coverage., and
Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani addressed a rally of 50,000 people on November 24, when he accused the president of inefficiency and demanded his resignation. The president's political opponents accused him of bungling the efforts and some demanded his resignation. A pesticide company had to wait two days before it received permission for two of its
crop dusters, which were already in the country, to carry out supply drops in the affected regions. The Pakistani only deployed a single helicopter to relief operations, with Yahya Khan later stating that there was no point deploying any helicopters from West Pakistan as they were unable to carry supplies.
Political consequences
The
Awami League, the largest political party in East Pakistan, headed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, swept to a landslide victory in the national elections in December 1970, partially as a result of dissatisfaction over the failures of the relief efforts of the national government. The elections for nine national assembly and eighteen provincial assembly seats had to be postponed until January 18 as a result of the storm.
The government's handling of the relief efforts helped exasperate the bitterness felt in East Pakistan, swelling the resistance movement there. Funds only slowly got through, and transport was slow in bringing supplies to the devastated regions. As tensions increased in March, foreign personnel evacuated due to fears of violence.
International response
India became one of the first nations to offer aid to Pakistan, despite the generally poor
relations between the two countries, and by the end of November had pledged $1.3 million (1970
USD, $6.9 million 2007 USD) of assistance for the relief efforts. The Pakistani government refused to allow the Indians to send supplies into East Pakistan by air, forcing them to be transported slowly by road instead. The Indian government also said that the Pakistanis refused an offer of military aircraft, helicopters and boats from
West Bengal to assist in the relief operation.
US President Richard Nixon allocated a $10 million (1970 USD, $53 million 2007 USD) grant to provide food and other essential relief to the survivors of the storm, and the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan pledged that he'd "assist the East Pakistan government in every way feasible." The American government also sent a number of blankets, tents and other supplies. Six helicopters, two helicopters at an aid mission in
Nepal and four from the United States, were sent to East Pakistan. Some 200,000 tons of wheat were shipped from the
United States to the stricken region. The British task force arrived off the Pakistan coast on November 24, and the 650 troops aboard the ships immediately began using
landing craft to deliver supplies to offshore islands.
The
Canadian government pledged $2 million of assistance.
France and
West Germany sent both helicopters and various supplies worth $1.3 million. The Vatican later contributed $100,000 to the relief efforts. The
Japanese cabinet approved a total of $1.65 million of relief funds in December. The Japanese government had previously drawn criticism for only donating a small amount to relief work. The first shipment of
Chinese supplies to East Pakistan was a planeload of 500,000 doses of cholera vaccine, which wasn't necessary as the country had adequate stocks.
UN Secretary-General U Thant made appeals for aid for the victims of the cyclone and the civil war in August, in two separate relief programs. He said only about $4 million had been contributed towards immediate needs, well short of the target of $29.2 million. By the end of November, the
League of Red Cross Societies had collected $3.5 million to supply aid to the victims of the disaster. The Bank provided $25 million of credit to help rebuild the East Pakistan economy and to construct protective shelters in the region. This was the first time that the
IDA had provided credit for reconstruction. By the start of December, nearly $40 million had been raised for the relief efforts by the governments of 41 countries, organisations and private groups.
In 1966, the
Red Crescent began to support the development of a cyclone warning system for the residents of the
Ganges Delta. On November 20, the
United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that both expressed its sympathy to the Pakistani government and called on the UN specialised agencies and governmental and
non-governmental organisations to help Pakistan with both its short-term relief and long-term reconstruction and development. This developed into a Cyclone Preparedness Programme in 1972, which is today run by the
government of Bangladesh and the
Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. The programme's objectives are to raise public awareness of the risks of cyclones and to provide training to emergency personnel in the coastal regions of Bangladesh.
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