1991 Bangladesh Cyclone

Date: April 29, 1991 • Location: Patiya, Bangladesh

A powerful tropical cyclone struck Chittagong, Bangladesh, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving up to 10 million homeless across the region.

The 1991 Bangladesh cyclone was a catastrophic tropical cyclone, being one of the deadliest tropical cyclones in recorded history, and one of the most powerful cyclones in the Indian Ocean. Forming out of a large area of convection over the Bay of Bengal on April 24, the tropical cyclone initially developed gradually while meandering over the southern Bay of Bengal. On April 28, the storm began to accelerate northeastwardly under the influence of the southwesterlies, and rapidly intensified to super cyclonic storm strength near the coast of Bangladesh on April 29. After making landfall in the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 250 km/h (155 mph), the cyclone rapidly weakened as it moved through northeastern India, degenerating into a remnant low over the Yunnan province in western China.