Cyclone and Storm Surge - Iczmpwb.org

Chapter Two
Tropical Cyclones and their Effects in West Bengal
2.1. General Introduction
Technically, the cyclone affecting the coast of West Bengal, and indeed the remaining of coast of the
country, is called the Tropical Cyclone which is a storm system with a closed circulation around a
centre of low pressure, driven by the heat released when moist air rises and condenses. As the name
suggests, the origin of these is in the tropics and has an anticlockwise circulation in the northern
hemisphere. Tropical cyclones can produce extremely high winds, generate torrential rain, and drive
up the ocean water against the coast resulting in a storm surge. The effects of a cyclone on a
population can be catastrophic and as has been recorded in the historical annals of exceptional
cyclones, the storm of 1737 has been one of the worst, which had devastated the city of Kolkata
(Calcutta then). Though many accounts prevail, Bilham (1994) evaluates the event more rationally by
examining many contemporary documents and concludes that a cyclonic storm had caused a huge
wave to rush up the river Hooghly (reportedly 40 feet high) and destroy many fishing boats and ships.
Evidences also show that the strength of the storm had caused destruction of most of the thatched
houses belonging to the local population. The spire of St. Anne’s church within Fort William (later
destroyed during Siraj-ud-Daula’s campaign) had probably toppled due to the gust of the cyclonic
winds. Though this kind of cyclonic devastation has not been experienced by Kolkata since then, but
it may be presumed that such an event could have been one of an extreme kind in which the cyclone
track had been coincident with the path of the river Hooghly. This might explain the huge upsurge of
a wave and devastation of houses by winds. It is possible that the waves penetrated 60 leagues
(nearly 300 kms) inland from the mouth of the bay, as one may see from the remnants of the mast of
the Portugese ship that ran aground near Bandel and has been kept for public viewing at the old
church compound there.
CHAPTER 2
Other notable cyclones originating in the northern Indian Ocean are seen to have either hit the coast
of West Bengal or have grazed menacingly close by. For example, the severe tropical cyclone hit
Kolkata in 1864, reportedly killing nearly 60,000 people. This event and the subsequent famines in
1866 and 1871 led to the formation of the India Meteorological Department. The cyclonic devastation
of October 1942 is also reported to have been quite high, with wind speeds and Sagar Islands being
recorded to be as high as nearly 165 km per hour. The next severe cyclone that finds mention in this