View source for 1996 Bangladesh tornado

{{short description|1996 tornado in Bangladesh}}
{{Infobox weather event
| image = 
| caption = 
| dissipated = {{End date|1996|05|13|df=y}}
| formed = {{Start date|1996|05|13|df=y}}
| duration = 20 – 30 minutes
}}{{Infobox weather event/Tornado
| fujita-scale = F2
| winds = {{convert|125|mph|abbr=on}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/05/15/bangladesh-tornado-kills-440/c7cc0e84-3eee-4e7d-ba31-3a0b6e885cdd/|title=Bangladesh Tornado Kills 440|first=Farid|last=Hossain|date=May 15, 1996|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref>
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| fatalities = 600 dead<br>100,000 homeless
| injuries = 37,248 
| houses-destroyed = 36,420 
| affected = [[Tangail]], [[Jamalpur District|Jamalpur]]. [[Sirajganj District|Sirajganj]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/RPTS96/BD002.PDF| title =Bangladesh Tornadoes information 17 May 1996}}</ref>
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer
| season = [[Tornadoes of 1996]]
}}
The '''1996 Bangladesh tornado''' was a deadly and destructive [[tornado]] that struck 80 - 90 villages in north-central Bangladesh on 13 May 1996, leaving  more than 600 fatalities<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/deadliest-tornado-world-bangladesh-20140416|title=The Deadliest Tornado in the World|website=The Weather Channel}}</ref> with over 37,248 injured, and 36,420 houses were extensively damaged<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/bangladesh-tornado-information-bulletin-n-3-0|title=Bangladesh: Tornado - Information Bulletin n° 3 - Bangladesh|website=ReliefWeb|date=24 May 1996 }}</ref> within 20 minutes of its arrival at 125 [[Miles per hour|mi/h]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kunii |first1=Osamu |last2=Kunori |first2=Takeaki |last3=Takahashi |first3=Kodo |last4=Kaneda |first4=Masaki |last5=Fuke |first5=Nobuo |s2cid=31624153 |title=Health impact of 1996 tornado in Bangladesh |journal=The Lancet |date=September 1996 |volume=348 |issue=9029 |pages=757 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)65669-3 |pmid=8806315 }}</ref> The tornado arrived through [[Jamalpur District|Jamalpur]], [[Sirajganj District|Sirajganj]] and [[Tangail]] districts<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|title=Coping with the 1996 Tornado in Tangail, Bangladesh: An Analysis of Field Data|first=Bimal Kanti|last=Paul|date=August 1, 1998|journal=The Professional Geographer|volume=50|issue=3|pages=287–301|doi=10.1111/0033-0124.00121}}</ref> that affected numerous families across the villages, 100,000 people went homeless <ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRzMOYIuLJEC&q=tornado+cyclone+1996+Bangladesh&pg=PA339|title=Natural Disasters|first=Lee Allyn|last=Davis|date=March 25, 2008|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9781438118789|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TkqXxkMLv_0C&q=1996+tornado+jamalpur+and+tangail+district+bangladesh&pg=PA37|title=OFDA Annual Report|first=United States Agency for International Development Office of U. S. Foreign Disaster|last=Assistance|date=March 25, 1996|publisher=Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, Agency for International Development|via=Google Books}}</ref> and more than 6,787 livestock were killed. Initial reports cited between 400 and 443 dead with 32,000 injured.
Before the tornado arrived, locals witnessed heavy [[hail]]stones across the affected areas. Strong winds lifted several people away, and one person was blown and dropped 1.5 kilometers away at 28&nbsp;mph.<ref name="nytimes"/> It also uprooted trees and damaged the houses completely, mostly [[mudbrick]]-huts built by the villagers on the banks of river.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q2dZiH_j3bgC&q=1996+tornados+bangladesh&pg=PA10|title=Hurricanes and Tornadoes in Action|first1=Louise|last1=Spilsbury|first2=Richard|last2=Spilsbury|date=July 15, 2008|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|isbn=9781404218635|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Background ==
Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to various [[natural disaster]]s, including frequent occurrences of cyclones, [[storm surge]]s, tornadoes, [[tornado outbreak]]s, devastating floods and [[List of maritime disasters in Bangladesh|maritime disasters]]. Due to its frequent climate changes, it is recognized as the eighth vulnerable country in the history of [[List of natural disasters by death toll|world natural disaster]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/bangladesh-8th-worst-hit-country-natural-disasters-1713913|title=Bangladesh 8th worst-hit country by natural disasters|date=March 12, 2019|work=The Daily Star}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/bangladesh-disaster-risk-and-climate-resilience-program|title=Bangladesh Disaster Risk and Climate Resilience Program - Bangladesh|website=ReliefWeb}}</ref> On May 13, 1996, a tornado originated in north central of the country through Jamalpur, Sirajganj and Tangail districts of [[Dhaka]]. Due to its immense speed and 20 minutes of large destruction, it was declared the deadliest tornado, affecting the 90 villages of the country in forty years of Bangladesh's history. Several people died due to disease infection, head injuries, lack of sanitary countermeasures and [[Emergency management|emergency assistance]].<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-15-mn-4335-story.html|title=Bangladesh Tornado Leaves 443 Dead|date=May 15, 1996|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> [[The New York Times]] described "tree branches transformed into missiles by the 125 mile-per-hour winds".

==Emergency response==
The survivors accused the [[Government of Bangladesh|administration]] for not providing timely assistance, leading to count more tolls. Despite being a hotspot of tornadoes, [[disaster response]] was never exercised in 1990s. People claimed that authorities left several survivors alone in an attempt to search for the missing bodies and arrange their burial preparations.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |title=Death Toll in Bangladesh Tornado Rises to at Least 443 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/15/world/death-toll-in-bangladesh-tornado-rises-to-at-least-443.html |work=The New York Times |date=15 May 1996 |agency=Associated Press }}</ref> NGOs and neighboring people were actively involved in emergency assistance and the victims where possible, received disaster relief from the [[Bangladesh Red Crescent Society]] and government agencies. The [[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies]] (IFRC) was also providing medical assistance and dispatching relief materials to the tornado victims.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mustafa |first1=Sabir |title=Bangladesh tornado toll hits 165 |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/05/14/Bangladesh-tornado-toll-hits-165/8788832046400/ |work=UPI |date=14 May 1996 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Bimal Kanti |title=Coping with the 1996 Tornado in Tangail, Bangladesh: An Analysis of Field Data |journal=The Professional Geographer |date=August 1998 |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=287–301 |doi=10.1111/0033-0124.00121 }}</ref>

==References ==
{{reflist}}

{{1996 tornado outbreaks}}
{{10 deadliest tornadoes worldwide}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 Bangladesh-tornado}}
[[Category:Tornadoes in Asia]]
[[Category:Weather events in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Tornadoes of 1996]]
[[Category:1996 in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:1996 disasters in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:May 1996 events in Bangladesh]]