Characteristics of Very Severe Cyclonic Storm “SIDR” over the Bay of Bengal During 11-16 November 2007

Abstract

The year 2007 showed increased cyclonic activity over the Bay of Bengal, compared to recent years with the formation of nine cyclonic disturbances. Out of these disturbances, two cyclonic storms, including a very severe cyclonic storm “SIDR”, formed over the Bay of Bengal. This system crossed Bangladesh coast around 1700 UTC of 15 November 2007. The system caused heavy to very heavy rainfall over Bangladesh and northeastern states of India. According to media report, the wind speed of about 200 km/h prevailed over Bangladesh coast at the time of landfall and tidal wave of about 6 m inundated low lying areas of Bangladesh. It caused a loss of about 3,400 human lives and huge loss of property. The special features of “SIDR” are as follows. It was the first ever very severe cyclonic storm crossing Bangladesh after 1991 and first severe cyclonic storm after 1998 (Table 1). The system moved in a near northerly direction till a few hours before landfall and recurved northeastwards during landfall. It moved faster during 12 h before landfall. The size of the storm was less, though it had severe damage potential. The very severe cyclonic storm was monitored by the latest technological tools like Doppler Weather Radar (DWR), Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), and satellite derived products including atmospheric motion vectors (AMV).