Tropical Storm Nora was a short lived storm over the South China Sea moved inland into Vietnam and later on Cambodia and Laos. The remnant of Nora ends up in the Indian Ocean and the water is very warm. This cluster of thunderstorm forms a circulation and becomes a tropical depression on November 7th. The tropical depression begns to strengthen into a tropical storm. Then it becomes a hurricane or in that part of the world, a tropical cyclone, which is a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean.
The tropical cyclone has sustained winds of 125 to 130 mph, which is a Category 3 hurricane. It is in the Bay of Bengal and moves north towards East Pakistan, which is present day Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is a low lying nation with the Ganges River Delta. The river delta makes the area very fertile, which is why that region is densely populated. Many people choose to live there because it is great for agriculture and fishing. On the night of November 12th, the tropical cyclone makes landfall and storm surge as high as 40 feet starts to ravage East Bangladesh.
Heavy rain pelts the area. Many people are not aware that a tropical cyclone is hitting them. Once the tropical cyclone passes and dissipates over the Himalayas, it leaves devastation of epic proportions. There is widespread flooding and rotten corpses floating. Also, diseases, like cholera and malaria spreads and causes epidemics.
At least 500,000 people are dead, mostly in the Bhola province and islands in the Delta, where more than 100,000 people died. Perhaps the death toll could go as high as 1.1 million. It is considered the worst hurricane on record and one of the worst disasters in recent in the modern era and 20th century. Many bodies were never recovered and were likely washed out to sea. The Pakistani government was slow to respond after the disaster.
In March 26, 1971, war breaks out, the Bangladesh Liberation War, which leads to independence and the formation of the nation of Bangladesh after December 16, 1971. Bangladesh is a nation formed by tropical cyclones or hurricanes because of the Bhola Cyclone. The Ganges River Delta is very vulnerable to hurricanes because it is low lying and the Bay of Bengal is very shallow, an ideal place for storm surge. Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are usually small, but deadly because they hit densely populated areas and often they are poor. In April of 1991, another tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh and claims 145,000 lives. The 1970 Bhola Cyclone remains the deadliest tropical cyclone to this day.
Wikipedia-Bhola Cyclone
Wikipedia-Bangladesh Liberation War
Banglapedia- Liberation war of Bangladesh
