‘Biparjoy’ to hit Gujarat on June 15: A look at some of India’s deadliest cyclones

With cyclonic storm Biparjoy expected to make landfall on Gujarat’s Kutch coast on Thursday, preparations are underway to mitigate the impact of the approaching storm.  

As per the latest observations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ has weakened from an extremely severe to very severe cyclone. 

After chairing a high-level meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed officials for the safe evacuation of people from vulnerable areas.

Over 20,000 people have been shifted from coastal areas to temporary shelters. Moreover, people living within 10 km off the coast of Kutch and Saurashtra districts in Gujarat have also been evacuated.

As per the IMD, the very severe cyclone has the potential to cause extensive damage to crops, roads and power lines.

Let’s have a look at some of India’s deadliest cyclones…

Super Cyclone 1999

It was one of the deadliest cyclones in the history of India. The cyclone hit Paradip coast with a maximum wind speed of 260 km/hr. Over 10,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured due to the devastating cyclone.

Cyclone Fani 

The extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani hit Odisha coast in 2019 leaving a trail of destruction. Over 100 people were killed in the fatal cyclone. The storm made landfall with a wind speed of 240 km/hr. Over million people from the State were evacuated to nearly 5,000 temporary shelters before its landfall. It was one of the strongest cyclones to hit India. Odisha plunged into darkness after Fani. It was one the deadliest cyclones to hit the State since the 1999 Super Cyclone. 

Cyclone Tauktae 

Tauktae was an extremely severe cyclonic storm. The cyclone hit parts of Gujarat in May 2021, leaving a trail of destruction. Over 100 people died in the cyclone. It also led to the sinking of Barge P-305, a tug boat off the Mumbai coast in which over 80 people died.

Gujarat Cyclone 1998

 The very severe cyclonic storm hit the coast off Porbandar in Gujarat with a maximum wind speed of over 160 km/hr. More than 1,100 people were killed and over 1,700 injured due to the cyclone.

Cyclone 1996

The very severe cyclonic storm hit Andhra Pradesh coast near Kakinanda. Around 2,000 people dies and over 900 were reported missing in the cyclone. Crops on 3,20,000 hectares of land were damaged due to the cyclone.

Super Cyclone 1977 

It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in India’s history. More than 10,000 people were killed after the cyclone hit Nizampatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Property worth ₹ 350 crore was damaged.

Odisha Cyclone 1971

More than 10,000 people were killed after the extremely severe cyclone made a landfall off Paradip coast.