Pre-1980 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons 3094255 195837209 2008-03-04T17:36:06Z Juliancolton 2793164 /* See also */ fixed link The years before 1980 featured the '''Pre-1980 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, with 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 the 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. <div id="toc" style="text-align:center; float:right; margin-left:1.5em; margin-bottom:1em; width:20em; font-size: 90%;"><big>'''[[List of North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons|North Indian cyclone seasons]]'''</big><br> <big>'''Pre-1980''' [[1980-1984 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons|1980-1984]] [[1985-1989 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons|1985-1989]] [[1990-1994 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons|1990-1994]] [[1995-1999 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons|1995-1999]]</big></div> ==1700s== ===1737 Calcutta Cyclone=== On [[7 October]] [[1737]], a [[natural disaster]] struck the city of [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] (modern-day Kolkata) in [[India]]. For a long time this was believed in [[Europe]] to have been the result of an [[earthquake]], but it is now believed to have been a [[tropical cyclone]]. [[Thomas Joshua Moore]], the duties collector for the [[British East India Company]] in Calcutta, wrote in his official report that a storm and flood had destroyed nearly all the thatched buildings and killed 3,000 of the city's inhabitants. Other reports from merchant ships indicated an earthquake and [[tidal surge]] were to blame, destroying 20,000 ships in the harbor and killing 300,000 people. It should be noted that the population of Calcutta at the time was around 20,000.[http://cires.colorado.edu/~bilham/gif_images/1737Calcutta.pdf] Although there seems to be little evidence for the popular figure of 300,000 deaths or for the existence of an earthquake at all, it is this number that shows up in popular literature. At the same time, the figure of 3000 is only an estimation of the number of deaths inside the city itself. * [http://www.imdmumbai.gov.in/cycdisasters.htm Cyclone Related Disasters] * [http://cires.colorado.edu/~bilham/1737Earthquake.html 1737 Earthquake] ===1789 Indian Cyclone=== Strong [[storm surge]] from a cyclone that hit [[Coringa, India]] killed 20,000. ==1800s== ===1839 Indian Cyclone=== A 40-foot storm surge from a huge cyclone that hit [[Coringa, India]] on [[November 25]] killed 300,000 people. ===1864 Calcutta Cyclone=== On [[October 5]], a powerful cyclone hit near Calcutta, India, killing around 60,000 people. ===1876 Indian Cyclone=== On [[October 31]], a cyclone hit the [[Megna River Delta]] area of India. The storm surge killed 100,000, and the disease after the storm killed another 100,000 ==1900s== ===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 [[kilometers per hour|km/h]] (140 [[miles per hour|mph]]) was recorded. ===1960 East Pakistan I Cyclone=== 6,000 deaths can be attributed to a cyclone that hit the eastern portion of [[East Bengal|Pakistan]] what was known then as [[East Pakistan|East Bengal]] state on [[October 10]]. ===1963 East Pakistan II Cyclone=== On [[May 28]], a cyclone hit present-day Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan province), causing 22,000 fatalities due to storm surge and flooding. ===1965 Pakistani ''Bengali'' Cyclones=== Two cyclones that hit on [[May 11]] and [[June 1]] killed a total of 47,000 people. ===1965 Pakistani Cyclone=== A cyclone hit near [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]] on [[December 15]], causing about 10,000 casualties. ===1970 season=== {{hurricane main|1970 North Indian Ocean cyclone season}} {{see also|1970 Bhola cyclone}} A powerful cyclone that hit [[East Pakistan|Eastern Pakistan]] on [[November 13]] killed 500,000 people from storm surge, high winds, and flooding. [[Image:231119780853ZBDTirosN.jpg|thumb|right|Tropical cyclone impacting Sri Lanka on November 23, 1978]] [[Image:080519790852ZBDTirosN.gif|thumb|left|Tropical cyclone east of Sri Lanka on May 8, 1979]] ===1971 Orissa 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 [[Orissa]], [[India]], on [[October 29]], and dissipated 2 days later. The storm surge and flooding from the system caused 10,000 fatalities. ===1977 Andhra Pradesh Cyclone=== The monsoon trough spawned a tropical depression on [[November 14]]. It tracked westward, becoming a tropical storm on the [[November 15]] and a cyclone on [[November 16]]. A break in the subtropical [[ridge(meteorology)|ridge]] pulled the cyclone northward, where it slowly strengthened to a peak of 130 mph winds. It hit the [[Andhra Pradesh]] coastline on [[November 19]] at that intensity, and dissipated the next day. Strong winds, heavy flooding, and storm surge of 5 meters high killed 10,000 people, left hundreds of thousands homeless, and destroyed 40% of India's food grains. ==See also== {{tcportal}} *[[List of North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons]] *[[List of tropical cyclones]] *[[Tropical cyclone]] *[[Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale]] *[[List of Pacific typhoon seasons]] *[[List of Atlantic hurricane seasons]] *[[List of Pacific hurricane seasons]] ==External links== *[https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc/atcr/atcr_archive.html JTWC Archive] *[http://www.imdmumbai.gov.in/cycdisasters.htm Cyclone related disasters] *[http://www.disaster-management.net/cyclone.htm Cyclones] [[Category:North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons|1979]] [[Category:{{PAGENAME}}| ]]