Cyclone Nargis

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Nargis

Extremely severe cyclonic storm (IMD scale)
Category 4 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Cyclone Nargis approaching landfall in Myanmar on May 2
Formed	April 27, 2008
Dissipated	May 3, 2008
Highest winds	3-minute sustained: 165 km/h (105 mph) 1-minute sustained: 215 km/h (130 mph)
Lowest pressure	962 hPa (mbar); 28.41 inHg
Fatalities	138,366 total
Damage	$10 billion (2008 USD) (Costliest cyclone in Indian Ocean in recorded history)
Areas affected	Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka
Part of the 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season

Cyclone Nargis (نرگس [ˈnərɡɪs]) caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar during early May 2008. The cyclone made landfall in Myanmar on Friday, 2 May 2008, sending a storm surge 40 kilometres up the densely populated Irrawaddy delta, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 138,000 fatalities. The Labutta Township alone was reported to have 80,000 dead, with about 10,000 more deaths in Bogale. There were around 55,000 people missing and many other deaths were found in other towns and areas, although the Myanmar government's official death toll may have been under-reported, and there have been allegations that government officials stopped updating the death toll after 138,000 to minimize political fallout. The feared 'second wave' of fatalities from disease and lack of relief efforts never materialized. Damage was estimated at over K62,988,000,000 (US$10 billion), which made it the most damaging cyclone ever recorded in this basin.

The first named storm of the 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Nargis developed on 27 April in the central area of Bay of Bengal. Initially it tracked slowly northwestward and, encountering favourable conditions, it quickly strengthened. Dry air weakened the cyclone on 29 April, though after beginning a steady eastward motion Nargis rapidly intensified to attain peak winds of at least 165 km/h (105 mph) on 2 May according to IMD observations; the JTWC assessed peak winds of 215 km/h (130 mph), making it a weak Category 4 cyclone on the SSHS. The cyclone moved ashore in the Ayeyarwady Division of Myanmar at peak intensity and, after passing near the major city of Yangon (Rangoon), the storm gradually weakened until dissipating near the border of Myanmar and Thailand.