Daulaptur-saturia Tornado

Damage was extensive over the area, as countless trees were uprooted and every home within a six square kilometer area of the tornado's path was completely destroyed. After the storm hit, an article in the Bangladesh Observer stated that "The devastation was so complete, that barring some skeletons of trees, there were no signs of standing infrastructures. The tornado was estimated to be approximately one mile wide, and had a path that was about 50 miles long, through the poor areas and slums of Bangladesh. Approximately 80,000 people were left homeless by the storm, and 12,000 people were injured by the storm. Saturia and Manikganj were both fully destroyed by the tornado. The Fujita scale rating of this storm is unknown due to poor housing construction and lack of data. In Bangladesh, housing construction in the poor areas is very poor, so sometimes a strong gust of wind may knock over a home and kill the residents inside. This is also why the vast majority of homes hit by the tornado were level.

Damage and effects

The Daulatpur–Saturia, Bangladesh tornado was an extremely destructive tornado that occurred in the Manikganj District, Bangladesh on April 26, 1996. It was the costliest and deadliest tornado in Bangladesh's history. There is great uncertainty about the death toll, but estimates indicate that it killed around 1,300 people, which would make it the deadliest tornado in history.[ The tornado affected the cities of Daulatpur and Saturia the most, moving east through Daulatpur and eventually northeast and into Saturia. Previously, the area that the tornado hit had been in a state of drought for six months, possibly generating triadic conditions.

About The Tornado

Bangladesh is one of the countries with the highest frequency of tornadoes, behind the United States and Canada. Bangladesh has received other deadly tornadoes, (see List of Asian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks), but this particular storm was the worst in the country's history.

Frequency

The estimated size of the tornado according to sources was 1 mile wide. In just a matter of minutes, the horrific twister claimed the lives of 1,300 people and left 12,000 others injured. The towns were completely destroyed and 80,000 were left homeless.The drought that Bangladesh was experiencing for 6 months intensified the atmospheric conditions, which allowed a deadly massive tornado to form.

Deaths And Injuries