Video: ''Bangladesh Cyclone' DEC Appeal , Trevor McDonald, 1991, ITV'
(Tuesday, April 30, 1991, 1:00 a.m. Bangladesh Standard Time; during the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone) — 138,866 people were killed when a cyclone made landfall early this morning about 35 miles south of Chittagong in southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 250 km/h (155 mph).
Forming out of a large area of convection over the Bay of Bengal on April 24, it was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded in the basin, causing a 6.1 m (20 ft) storm surge, which caused about US$1.7 billion (1991 USD) in damage.
As a result of the catastrophic damage, the United States and other countries carried out Operation Sea Angel, one of the largest military relief efforts ever carried out.
Bangladesh, a low-lying tropical country on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, is among the world’s poorest and most densely populated nations, with 110 million people in an area roughly the size of Wisconsin.
In the continual harsh struggle for land here, many people inhabit the coastal areas and silt islands that are most prone to frequent floods and other natural calamities.
