Cyclones which tormented West Bengal over the decades

Cyclone Amphan has claimed 80 lives in West Bengal and disrupted the normal of the people in the state. The state faced the first cyclone which crossed over Sunderbans way back in 1737.

Hyderabad: While India is one of those countries which is highly prone to natural calamities, but the east coast has witnessed severe cyclonic storms in the past two decades.

The cyclone Amphan which made landfall on Wednesday was a very powerful tropical cyclone of 2020 raising over the Bay of Bengal around the state of West Bengal and Odisha.

Kolkata has been devastated by the powerful cyclone Amphan which killed around 80 people in the state till now.

The authorities are busy restoring the normal life thrown out of gear by the region's worst weather disasters.

In last year, West Bengal faced cyclone Fani, Bulbul which barely caused any damage but Amphan this year has caused a major loss of life and property.

West Bengal had the first impact of a cyclone way back in 1737 which took a toll of 300,000 lives.

Here is the list of cyclones which hit West Bengal:

• The state faced the first cyclone on October 7-12,1737 which crossed the coast over Sunderbans and surged to a height of 12 metres.
• Another cyclone which crossed Sagar island in 1833 lead to the death of around 30,000 people.
• On 2-5 October, 1864 a very severe cyclone that crossed West Bengal near Contai took a toll of 50,000 people due to drowning and 30, 000 due to the result of inundation. The waves in many places of the state rose to the height of 9 metres. At Sagar island, the waves were 5 metre above the land and at Diamond Harbour it was 3 metre. The maximum height of the waves was 12 metre.
• 19,000 people and 60,000 cattle died after a cyclone hit the state coast near Contai on 14-16 October, 1942. The waves surged a height of 3 to 5 metres.
• In 1942 (29 May- 01 June), the cyclone caused floods in Midnapur district which damaged crops due to saline water intrusion.
• A cyclone crossed West Bengal coast in 1971 (September 27- October 1) near Sunderban in which 60 people died and thousands of houses were destroyed. The cyclone continued to move towards the North West and weakened in Bihar on October 1.
• Another cyclone crossed West Bengal coast near Sagar island on December 10, 1981 and weakened into a depression in Bangladesh on December 11. One million people were affected and 200 people died in the districts of 24 Parganas.
• Another cyclone crossed close to the east of Sagar Island on 23-26 May, 2009. The waves surged to a height of 3-5 metres and caused a loss of 137 people and 50,000 cattle.
• Last year in May, Fani made landfall with a wind-speed of 100 Kmph in Kolkata but it fizzled out while passing over the city.
• In the month of November 2019, another severe cyclone Bulbul made landfall between Sagar island in Sunderban delta of Bengal and Khepupura of Bangladesh. There was a minimum rainfall in Calcutta.