The 1970 Cyclone: Bhola's Political Shockwave

In November 1970, the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded slammed into the low-lying coast of East Pakistan. The Bhola cyclone killed an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people in a single night — but its aftermath toppled a military regime. We explore how the Pakistani government's feeble, humiliating response to the disaster radicalized Bengalis, fueled Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's landslide victory in the December 1970 elections, and set the stage for the Bangladesh Liberation War. Along the way, we touch on the science of the storm, the geography of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, the 'lull' that deceived forecasters, and the political earthquake that followed the 1971 cyclone, less than a year before the war. This is the story of a natural disaster that unmade a nation.

#BholaCyclone #1970Cyclone #EastPakistan #SheikhMujiburRahman #AyubKhan #YahyaKhan #1970Elections #LiberationWar #GangesDelta #StormSurge #NaturalDisaster #BengalCoast #PakistanHistory #BangladeshHistory #FexingoHistory #History #SouthAsia #Oceanography

Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo