The cyclone made landfall near Chittagong with sustained winds around 250 km/h. Despite warnings being issued, many coastal residents did not or could not evacuate — shelters were too few and too far apart.
The storm killed roughly 138,000 people and left as many as ten million homeless or displaced. It directly motivated the large-scale expansion of Bangladesh's cyclone preparedness programme, which has since demonstrated that mortality from comparable storms can be reduced by more than 99 percent.
Why this event still matters
Historical incidents shape the rules that protect people today — building codes, evacuation policy, warning systems and inspection regimes almost always trace back to a specific disaster. Studying Bangladesh Cyclone (BOB 01) alongside current events is how preparedness improves.
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