[Date]

25 May 2009

[Disaster Type]

Cyclone induced storm surge, flood, gale

[Damaged Area]

Coastal area of Bangladesh, West-Bengal of India

[Fatalities/Missing]

Over 210 

[Injured]

Over 800

[Affected]

(detailed information not available, several millions allegedly were affected and 500,000 lost home)

[Ammount of Damages]

(detailed information not available)

[Damage on Structures]

Several rivers bursted their banks at over 10 points.
Farm lands and fishery equipments were devastated (Rices were just ready to be harvested) .
Road network was destroyed.
Heavily affected areas were without electricity for more than 24 hours.
Communications and water supply system became defective.
Over 3,000 thatched houses in West Bengal were collapsed and a lot of trees were uprooted.

Over 58,450 domestic animals were killed.
One of world's largest tiger reserve in the manglove forests of Sundarbans was severely inundated and a lot of tigers should have died.

[Cyclone Category]

Category 1 (SSHS, at the time of landing)

[Highest Wind]

120km/h (75mph)

[Lowest Pressure]

974 hPa (mbar)

[Precipitation]

270mm (Total amount at Darjeeling, India)

[Storm Surge Height]

2-3m

[Features]

It formed in transient of the pre-monsoon season (Mar.-May) and the monsoon rainy season(Jun.-Sep.). This was the largest cyclone spawned in this year so far.

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Cyclone 'Aila' swept areas still recovering from the cyclone 'Sidr' in November 2007 (About 3,500 were killed in Bangladesh and at least one million homeless). That led to a delay in recovery.

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Cyclone 'Aila' was not so strong as the cyclone 'Sidr' in 2007, the damages caused by its storm was relatively moderate. However, a high tide and a new moon spurred Aila to whip up surges higher than normal and it repeatedly inundated the area. The inundated water retained for several days and caused a prolonged recovery. 

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There are opinions that banks and roads were not repaired after 'Sidr' lashed and damaged them, despite financial supports from donor countries and  international communities were provided.

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Bangladeshi authority reportedly evacuated 500,000 inhabitants to the shelters. Utilization of the flood shelters should have reduced the fatalities.

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Some scientists predict that storm would become more frequent and more damaging due to climate change, as having seen a cyclone of Aila's magnitude so soon after 'Nargis' devastated Myanmar last year.

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Rehabilitation/development and sustainable maintenance/operation of disaster prevention facilities (especially banks and drain facilities)

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Promotion of disaster preventivion education

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Effective disaster forecasts and warnings, community-based disaster prevention schemes and local action rules for residents especially to evacuate to shelters.

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Accumulation of disaster information (In need for monitoring the influence of global warming)