Cyclone Nargis Strikes Myanmar

On 2 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck the coast of Myanmar at peak intensity, driving a massive storm surge approximately 40 kilometres up the densely populated Irrawaddy Delta. The system originated late in April over the Bay of Bengal, intensifying over warm waters into an extremely severe tropical cyclone. United States observers assessed the peak sustained winds at 215 kilometres per hour, placing the storm at Category 4 intensity, while the India Meteorological Department recorded peak three-minute winds of 165 kilometres per hour. After sweeping across the low-lying coastal plains and passing just north of Yangon, the storm weakened and eventually dissipated along the border with Thailand.

The physical destruction across the Irrawaddy Delta was catastrophic. Intense winds flattened entire communities, and surging seawater breached coastal defenses, drowning villages and ruining vast stretches of farmland. In the town of Labutta alone, state television reported that three-quarters of the buildings had collapsed, and the government said almost 95 percent of houses and other buildings in seven townships were destroyed. Saltwater and burst sewage lines inundated the fertile agricultural basin right at harvest time, devastating rice paddies that produced a major portion of the nation's food supply and prompting grave warnings of subsequent famine.