Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis location

Cyclone Nargis formed as a depression on 27 April 2008 in the Bay of Bengal about 466 miles/750 km south-east of the city of Chennai (formerly Madras) in India. At first, the storm tracked to the northwest and was expected to make landfall in India. However, on May 1st, Nargis turned and began to track towards the northeast because of the presence of a mid-latitude trough towards its northwest.

On this new track, it was initially projected to hit either Bangladesh or the mountainous, north-western part of Myanmar. Instead, it headed more or less due east and made landfall along Myanmar's southern and eastern coasts. Cyclone Nargis dissipated on 3 May 2008 at the Myanmar/Thailand border. Figure 1 shows its track.

Fig. 1 - Cyclone Nargis' route

Cyclone Nargis facts

In the following sections, we will examine some facts about Cyclone Nargis.

Cyclone Nargis' strength and category

After its formation, Cyclone Nargis was upgraded to a category 1 cyclone (according to the Saffir-Simpson scale) on 28 April. It further strengthened into a category 2 cyclone on 29 April. Later that same day, Nargis lost some strength and was downgraded to storm status. On 1 May, along with the storm's sudden turn towards the east, there was also a rapid intensification. By 1 May, the storm was a category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph/217 km/hr. It made landfall in Myanmar at this strength and battered the country until 3 May.

Cyclone Nargis - affected areas

Cyclone Nargis hit the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta, including south Yangon. Yangon is Myanmar's largest city and its leading commercial centre. The fact that the cyclone largely stayed along the coast prevented it from weakening as it made its way across southern Myanmar (the storm was still being fuelled by the warm waters). It affected about 50 townships, and the areas that experienced the worst impact were Labutta, Bogale, Pyapon, Dedaye and Kyaiklat. Figure 2 shows the areas which were affected by the storm.

Fig. 2 - areas affected by Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis impacts

The combination of heavy rains, high winds and the storm surge resulted in Cyclone Nargis devastating southern Myanmar and, as stated previously, becoming the worst natural disaster in the country's history. In fact, Nargis is often regarded as one of the worst natural disasters globally since 1970! A large proportion of the destruction resulted from its storm surge, estimated to have been over 16ft/5m in some areas and affected places up to 25 miles/40 km inland.

The impacts of the storm were amplified by the fact Myanmar already has relatively high levels of environmental degradation, including deforestation of mangroves, over-exploitation of natural resources and soil erosion.

Cyclone Nargis' economic impacts

Overall, it was estimated that Cyclone Nargis caused about USD $10 billion in damages, the equivalent of £8.3 billion today (July 2022). Approximately 65% of the rice paddy fields were destroyed (figure 3), which caused food security problems not only within the country but also in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, both of which depend on rice exports from Myanmar to feed their populations. The shrimping industry was also significantly damaged.

Fig. 3 - rice paddies flooded as a result of Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis' environmental impacts

Cyclone Nargis destroyed approximately 38,000 hectares (93,000 acres) of mangroves and other tree crops. There was contamination of surface and groundwater supplies, and 43% of the freshwater ponds were damaged. Additionally, the storm caused sedimentation in rivers, salination and erosion of agricultural land.

Cyclone Nargis' social impacts

The storm severely impacted about 1.5 million people. In the aftermath of the cyclone, the water supply contamination caused a potable water shortage. There were also food shortages and no electricity or phone lines as the storm had downed many utility poles. Furthermore, 95% of the buildings, including homes, in the delta were destroyed, while 75% of the health facilities in affected areas were either significantly damaged or destroyed. The damage to homes left many persons homeless. The storm killed numerous animals, and there was an increase in some diseases because of stagnant water and improper sanitation (figure 4).

Figure 4: Standing water still prevalent weeks after the passage of Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis death

The death toll attributed to Cyclone Nargis is approximately 140,000, with many others still reported as missing since their bodies have never been recovered. This makes Nargis one of the top 10 deadliest tropical cyclones in history.

Reasons for the high death toll

The high death toll was a result of a combination of factors. The storm made landfall in the most heavily populated part of the country. Myanmar did not have a reliable storm warning system in place, and although India did send warnings about its approach, many received the warnings too late. They did not understand that they should have evacuated. The storm surge, which was responsible for a vast proportion of the deaths, easily made its way inland as many of the mangroves, which could have provided some protection, had been destroyed. Many of the dwellings in the region were also poorly constructed and, therefore, easily washed away.

Cyclone Nargis aftermath

In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, the government of Myanmar initially barred international aid from entering the country. This may likely have contributed to increasing the death toll. When aid was finally allowed to enter about a week later, it was limited by the government to food, medicine, basic medical supplies and financial aid. At this time, no foreign aid workers were allowed to enter the country. After weeks of negotiations, vast amounts of foreign relief and workers were granted access towards the end of May. Table 1 outlines some (not all!) of the aid provided to Myanmar in the aftermath of Nargis.

Table 1: Aid provided to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis

Fig. 5 - supplies sent from Australia arriving in Myanmar in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis