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Sociodemographic comparison and impact of Aila: The supercyclone in Gosaba of West Bengal

2010; Medknow; Volume: 35; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4103/0970-0218.69280

1998-3581

Ranjan Bhattacharyya, Debasish Sanyal, S. Dutta, Malati Ghosh, Sumita Bhattacharyya,

Hydrology and Drought Analysis

The South 24 Parganas district was one of the most affected areas of West Bengal when the recent cyclone Aila, which was a 250- to 350-km-wide beast with wind speeds exceeding 120 km/h, reached the east of India and Bangladesh on May 25, 2009. The cyclone affected an estimated 6.8 million people and left 138 individuals dead. Although, 18 of the 19 districts in West Bengal were affected, the situation was most precarious in South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts of the Sunderbans area. Sunderbans is one of the largest deltas of river Ganga with people of multiethnic background and pluralistic religious beliefs.