The Bhola Cyclone was a tropical cyclone that struck Pakistan in November of 1970. It is one of the deadliest storms in history and is the deadliest cyclone ever recorded. The death toll for the storm was estimated to be over 500,000. The reason for such a massive death toll was part due to the poor preparation by the Pakistani government. People were surprised that the storm had hit which was due to the storm warning system not being effectively used. Another factor that contributed to the lethality of the storm was that the current state of the tides. The tides were already at fll which contributed to the massive wave of water that flooded very crowded coastal regions. When the storm hit land it caused a 10m storm surge at the Ganges Delta and up to 4m for regions at sea level. The total financial damage of the storm was $86.4 million in 1970 which today would be equivalent to approx. $450 million in 2008. The damages also destroyed 65% of the fishing capabilities of the country. The disaster did not stop after the storm had subsided as the Pakistani government was very unwilling to deal with the Indian government for the purpose of providing and receiving aid. The unwillingness the East Pakistani government presented in the disaster that it pushed the country to revolt and turn into modern day Bangladesh.
The picture below is the path the storm took near the coast of India before it impacted Pakistan
The disastrous results of the Bhola Cyclone
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