USA TODAY International Edition
Killer weather: U. N. identifies world’s deadliest storms
Past tragedies help in preparing for future
A tropical cyclone that killed 300,000 people in 1970 in East Pakistan — now Bangladesh — was officially declared the world’s all- time deadliest weather event, the World Meteorological Organization said Thursday.
The agency, part of the United Nations, also identified which tornado, lightning strike and hailstorm resulted in the highest death tolls.
“Knowing exactly how bad various types of weather have been in the past is an integral part of preparing for the future,” said geographer Randy Cerveny of Arizona State University, who led the committee that made the determinations. “As the old saying goes, ‘ Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.’ ”
The horrific death toll in the tropical cyclone in 1970 — the same type of storm as a hurricane — was mostly because of a large storm surge that overwhelmed the islands and tidal flats along the shores of the Bay of Bengal.
“In today’s world, it seems like the latest weather disaster is the worst,” Cerveny said. “I have often heard since 2005 that Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest tropical cyclone or hurricane to have ever occurred.”
Katrina killed more than 2,000 people and “pales in comparison” to the cyclone in Bangladesh, he said.
The USA’s deadliest hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas, in 1900, killing 8,000 people.
The world’s deadliest tornado on record also struck Bangladesh, according to the WMO report. The twister, which carved a path a mile wide and 10 miles long, hit the nation’s Manikganj district April 26, 1989, killing about 1,300 people. More than 12,000 people were injured and 80,000 left homeless.
The deadliest hailstorm occurred April 30, 1888, near Moradabad, India, when as many as 246 people were killed by hailstones as large as goose eggs, oranges and cricket balls. An eyewitness said, “Men caught in the open and without shelter were simply pounded to death by the hail,” the WMO reported
The full report appeared in the journal Weather, Climate and Society.