Pre-1975 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons


The years before 1975 featured the pre-1975 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian tropical cyclone season has no bounds, but they tend to form between April and December, peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. Below are the most significant cyclones in the time period. Because much of the North Indian coastline is near sea level and prone to flooding, these cyclones can easily kill many with storm surge and flooding. These cyclones are among the deadliest on earth in terms of numbers killed.

Systems

Pre-1700s

1864 Calcutta Cyclone

On October 5, a powerful cyclone hit near Calcutta, India, killing around 300,100 people. The anemometer in the city was blown away during the cyclone. Over 100 brick homes and tens of thousands of tiled and straw huts were leveled. Most ships in the harbor were either damaged or destroyed. The cyclone of 1864 destroyed the ports at Khejuri and Hijli.

November 1867 Great Calcutta cyclone

The anemometer in the city was blown away during the cyclone. A lack of storm surge minimized the overall damage from this system.

October 1874 Bengal cyclone

This severe cyclone killed 80,000 people and caused significant damage.

October 1876 Backergunge cyclone

On October 31, a cyclone hit the Meghna River Delta area of India. The storm surge killed 100,000, and the disease after the storm killed another 100,000.

June 1885 Aden cyclone

A cyclone had formed near the Laccadive Islands on May 24, west of southern India. The SS Mergui encountered the cyclone off the Horn of Africa, east of Socotra on June 1 and reported it stronger than the tropical cyclone which struck Calcutta in 1864. Just before midnight on the night of June 1, the Diomed reported winds of hurricane force and a pressure of. The ship Peshawar reported a westerly hurricane at the east end of the Gulf of Aden towards midnight on the night of June 2. At noon on June 3, the Tantallon reported a pressure of near 12.5N 45.5E. On June 3, the German corvette Augusta, the French dispatch boat Renard, and the British ship SS Speke Hall were lost in the storm in the Gulf of Aden. The system continued westward and shrank in scale as it moved into the entrance of the Red Sea, crossing the coast of Djibouti.

1885 Odisha cyclone

An intense cyclone struck Odisha.
it killed one person.

June 1890 Muscat cyclone

This system formed off the west coast of India during the first week of June and moved northwest towards the Arabian peninsula. Approaching the Gulf of Oman, strong winds and heavy rains affected Sur during the afternoon on June 4. Rain spread west that evening towards Muscat, where winds increased to hurricane-force from the north-northeast early on June 5. The eye of the storm made landfall at Sohar at dusk on June 5, eventually dissipating well inland. Heavy rains fell at the hospital in Muscat, where were recorded. This led to flooding which took several hundred lives. Several thousand date trees were uprooted by the storm's winds and carried away by its floods. Several homes were leveled in Muscat and Mutrah. Fifty perished from downing near the coast or being buried by debris. Overall, 727 people lost their lives.

1891–99

An intense cyclone struck Odisha.

1895 Balochistan cyclone

In 1895, a cyclonic storm hit the Makran coast in Balochistan province in modern-day Pakistan.

Early 1900s

May 1902 Karachi cyclone

In May 1902, a cyclonic storm struck the coast in the vicinity of Karachi.

June 1907 Karachi cyclone

In June 1907, a tropical storm struck the coast near Karachi.

October 1942 Bengal cyclone

On October 16, a cyclone hit near the India/Bangladesh border, resulting in around 40,000 fatalities. A wind gust of 225 km/h was recorded.

July 1944 Karachi cyclone

On 27 July 1944, a cyclone left some 20,000 people homeless in Karachi.

November 1946 Andhra coast cyclone

This significant storm killed 750 people and led to a loss of 30,000 cattle.

1948 Balochistan cyclone

In 1948, a tropical storm made landfall along the Makran coast in Balochistan province in Pakistan.

1950s

1950

1954

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

June 1956 India cyclone

This cyclone brought torrential rainfall to Midnapore district in West Bengal. About 20,000 people were left homeless, while another 20,000 people were left stranded near the Assam border after the Haora River topped its banks. There was an estimated 480 fatalities, most caused by landslides.

December 1957 cyclone

A cyclone developed over the Arabian Sea near the Gulf of Oman on December 27. Moving westward, the storm lashed Bahrain with winds of. An offshore oil rig collapsed, killing 20 Royal Dutch Shell employees.
This system first became a low-pressure area near the Laccadive Islands on May 19, tracking northwest towards the Arabian peninsula. The system made landfall at Raysut on May 24. At Salalah, skies clouded over on May 23 as the pressure fell significantly. Winds turned northerly before midnight that night. At 1 a.m. on May 24 the peak of the storm's winds arrived. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at and the pressure at Salalaha fell to. Many vessels offshore, including two large passenger ships, went to pieces. Five buildings collapsed and several roofs were blown away by the cyclone. Salalah recorded of rain at their airport. A total of 141 lives from the ship Samha were taken during this tempest.

1960s

1960

Fifteen depressions developed during the course of the 1960 season, with five becoming cyclonic storms. The majority of activity took place in the Bay of Bengal, with eleven cyclones forming there. The season's first storm formed over the Arabian Sea on May 10. Though it remained over water for its entire existence, several vessels encountered the storm and reported hurricane-force winds as well as a pressure of 974 mbar. The deadliest and most intense cyclone of the season was Severe Cyclonic Storm Ten, which killed 14,174 in East Pakistan in early November. Attaining peak winds estimated at 150 km/h and a pressure of 966.7 mbar, it struck just three weeks after the previous system devastated the same area. Producing a 6.1 m storm tide that swept 16 km inland, several coastal islands were completely submerged. An estimated 200,000–300,000 were left homeless in the wake of the two storms. These systems marked the start of an unusually active period of cyclones impacting East Pakistan, culminating ten years later with the 1970 Bhola cyclone that killed 300,000–500,000 people. During the course of the season, several depressions impacted India, each producing heavy rain. Collectively, these systems killed 125 people.

1961

1962

1963

;May Salalah cyclone
On May 19, a tropical disturbance formed over the Laccadive Islands, before tracking northwest towards the Arabian peninsula. The system achieved cyclone intensity on May 22. A United States Weather Bureau research flight flew into the -wide eye of the hurricane-strength system, and found a central pressure of. A ship west of the system reported winds of. At Salalah, a strong northerly wind set in during the morning of May 25. Later in the day, winds increased to gale force and a sandstorm reduced visibility to. Later in the day of May 26 winds again increased to gale force and another sandstorm reduced visibility to. As winds increased to the sandstorm became more severe, with visibility restricted to. Late on the night of the 26th, winds shifted to northeast and heavy rains fell across the region through the morning hours. Skies remained cloudy with periods of rain into May 28. A total of was recorded at Salalah.
;May East Pakistan II cyclone
On May 28, a cyclone hit present-day Bangladesh, causing 22,000 fatalities due to storm surge and flooding.

1964

Indus valley cyclone

It made landfall in Tharparkar and Hyderabad district in Sindh province in Pakistan on 12 June. However it caused a great loss of life and property in the province. It killed 450 people and left some 400,000 people homeless.

Ceylon cyclone

1965 Bengal Cyclones

Two cyclones that hit on May 11 and June 1 killed a total of 47,000 people.

December 1965 East Pakistan cyclone

A cyclone hit East Pakistan on December 15, causing about 10,000 casualties.

November 1966 Madras cyclone

A cyclone struck Madras, India on November 3, killing over 50 people and leaving 800,000 people homeless.

October 1967 Odisha cyclone

On October 12, an intense cyclone struck the state of Odisha and left complete devastation along its path.

1968 Myanmar cyclone

On May 10, a cyclone struck Myanmar, killing 1,037 people and leaving 297,768 people homeless.

1969

Storms in May and November struck Andhra Pradesh, killing 858 people.

1970

1970 Bhola cyclone

The 1970 Bhola cyclone was a devastating tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan 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 also the season's strongest, 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 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 country of Bangladesh.

1971

1971 Arabian Ocean Cyclone

A tropical cyclone moved through the Arabian Sea near the end of October.

1971 Odisha cyclone

On October 27 a tropical depression formed in the Bay of Bengal. It tracked northward, steadily strengthening until reaching a peak of 115 mph winds. The cyclone struck Cuttack, a city in Odisha, India, on October 29, and dissipated 2 days later. The storm surge and flooding from the system caused 10,800 fatalities.

1972

A cyclone in September 1972 struck Andhra Pradesh, killing 100.

December 1972 Tamil Nadu cyclone

This system killed 80 people and 150 cattle. The cyclone is visible on The Blue Marble photo taken by Apollo 17.

1973

May 1973 Arabian cyclone

This system formed in the Arabian Sea on May 27 and struck the Arabian peninsula on May 28, becoming the tenth system to affect the region since 1891.

June 1973 Arabian cyclone

October 1973 Bay of Bengal cyclone

Early November Bay of Bengal cyclone

Mid November Bay of Bengal cyclone

December 1973 Bay of Bengal cyclone

This system formed as a tropical depression in the southern Bay on December 5, strengthening into a tropical storm as it turned north-northwest on December 5, then to hurricane strength on December 6. The cyclone recurved, striking Indian near Calcutta on December 9, though its main impacts were across Bangladesh.

1974

This system developed off the eastern coast of southern India on November 23 and strengthened as it moved to the northeast. The system nearly reached hurricane strength as it made landfall near Chittagong late on November 28. A storm surge accompanied the system's approach to Bangladesh, which inundated several islands offshore. Less than 100 people perished while thousands were left homeless.

General references

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