1 Bhola Cyclone Batters Asia’s Bay of Bengal One of the worst storms in history struck Asia’s Bay of Bengal on November 11 1970 The Bhola Cyclone battered villages in present day Bangladesh Ocean waters rose 20 30 feet 6 9 m above normal Islands and low-lying coastlines were completely covered by water people were asleep when it hit In addition people did not receive any warning of the coming cyclone Officials saw the storm on radar but there was no way to share weather information People in affected areas did not have televisions or radios to receive updates People in these areas fought to stay alive during the storm surge Some climbed onto rooftops Others scaled trees There was no higher ground that people could flee to The powerful cyclone featured wind speeds over 140 miles per hour 225 km h Entire villages were wiped out At least 300,000 people died making the Bhola Cyclone one of the deadliest weather events in history The storm was so deadly in part because it struck at night Many
Low-lying coastline was devastated by the storm surge 300 Number of countries that sent aid to cyclone victims In 1970 the Bhola Cyclone devastated villages in present-day Bangladesh People climbed onto roofs or up trees to escape the storm surge The death toll was high because people had no warning of the storm HOW HURRICANES TYPHOONS AND CYCLONES ARE DIFFERENT The terms hurricane typhoon and cyclone all describe a weather system of rotating storms The terms are different because of where the storms begin Storms forming in the North Atlantic Northeast Pacific and central North Pacific are called hurricanes Northwest Pacific storms are known as typhoons And storms in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean are called cyclones
2 Great Galveston Hurricane Pounds Texas Coastline Galveston Texas had sunny skies and light winds on September 7 1900 There was no hint a terrible storm was on the way The next day a Category 4 hurricane hit the unprepared city Residents of Galveston had heard nothing about the storm In 1900 This entire neighborhood was reduced to piles of scrap wood there were no radio or TV stations Telephones were very limited Some information came in over telegraph wires But news had to be printed in newspapers When the hurricane hit there was no time to warn any of Galveston’s residents The hurricane brought winds of over 135 miles per hour 217 km h Property not destroyed by wind was washed out by water A 15-foot 4.6 m surge of ocean water washed over Galveston and knocked buildings off their foundations Structures were left as piles of scrap wood More than 3,600 houses were completely demolished There was also a massive human toll By the time the Great Galveston Hurricane blew out of town it had killed an estimated 8,000 people It is the deadliest natural disaster in US history
ISOLATED BY DISASTER Galveston sits on an island just off the coast of Texas The hurricane destroyed bridges connecting Galveston to the mainland It also destroyed all telegraph lines cutting off the city It took two days for messengers to reach Houston with news of the hurricane They reported that approximately 500 people had died The true scope of the destruction would not be known for weeks after 605 million Amount of damage the hurricane caused in 2016 dollars The residents of Galveston had no warning the hurricane was on its way Winds exceeding 135 miles per hour 217 km h helped destroy the city The Great Galveston Hurricane is the deadliest US natural disaster on record Survivors search for valuables in the wreckage
