The very severe cyclonic storm, PHAILIN over east central Bay of Bengal remained stationery and lay centred at 0830 hrs IST of October 11, 2013 near latitude 16.0 N and longitude 88.5E, about 520 km south-southeast of Paradip, 530km southeast of Gopalpur, and530km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam. It would move northwestwards and cross north AndhraPradesh and Odisha coast between Kalingapatnam and Paradip, close to Gopalpur (Odisha) by evening of October 12, 2013 as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained windspeed of 210-220 kmph.
As cyclone Phailin approaches the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast, here is a look at some of the worst cyclones in Asia.
2 May 2008: Myanmar - Cyclone Nargis hit the Ayeyarwady Delta, leaving 140,000 dead or missing and destroying infrastructure, property and livelihoods in the Ayeyarwady and Yangon divisions. More than 2.4 million people across the country were affected.
29 April 1991: Bangladesh - About 143,000 people died when Cyclone 02B hit the southern coast with a 4.6m tidal surge, leaving as many as 10 million homeless.
5 August 1:75: China - Typhoon Nina killed more than 100,000 and destroyed 100km of railways, causing US$1.2 billion in economic damage.
12 November 1970: East Pakistan/Bangladesh - Termed the "greatest tropical system disaster of the century" by the US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Cyclone Bhola swept the low-lying areas of the Bengal coast, destroying the city of Chittagong, dozens of villages, and killing upwards of 500,000 people. The government was criticized for its handling of relief operations. Popular dissatisfaction contributed to the outbreak of the civil war in 1971, which led to a war with India and the formation of Bangladesh.
16 October 1942: India - A cyclone hit the Bay of Bengal near the India-East Pakistan border, killing 40,000.
2 August 1922: China - Typhoon Swatow, accompanied by a tidal wave, hit Shantou, killing an estimated 50,000 people and devastating a large part of the Han River delta, carrying ships as far as 3.5km north.
August 1912: China - Typhoon strikes the eastern coast killing 50,000.
15 September 1881: Vietnam - The city of Haiphong in the Gulf of Tonkin, one of the most frequent paths for Asia's Pacific typhoons, was devastated, with 300,000 deaths.
5 October 1864: India - A powerful cyclone hit Calcutta, killing 60,000 and destroying most of the harbour.
25 November 1839: India - A cyclone with 12m waves hit Coringa, destroying 20,000 ships and killing an estimated 300,000 people.
(Sources: WMO, NOAA, EMDAT)
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