Ashar Char is a two mile long island in the western Bay of Bengal, located along the path of the Pyra river in the Amtali Upazila, Barguna District of Bangladesh. [1] [2]
In the past thousands of people lived on Ashar Char, but the island has been shrinking, and only a few hundred live there currently. The island was devastated by Cyclone Sidr in 2007. It is estimated that more than a thousand people died during the cyclone. [3]
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sangaman Kanda, Sri Lanka, and the north westernmost point of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is the largest water region called a bay in the world. There are countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal in South Asia and Southeast Asia. During the existence of British India, it was named the Bay of Bengal after the historic Bengal region. At the time, the Port of Kolkata served as the gateway to the Crown rule in India. Cox's Bazar, the longest sea beach in the world and Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest and the natural habitat of the Bengal tiger, are located along the bay.
The 1970 Bhola cyclone was a devastating tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan and India's West Bengal on November 12, 1970. It remains the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded and one of the world's deadliest natural disasters. At least 300,000 people died in the storm, possibly as many as 500,000, primarily as a result of the storm surge that flooded much of the low-lying islands of the Ganges Delta. Bhola was the sixth and strongest cyclonic storm of the 1970 North Indian Ocean cyclone season.
The years before 1890 featured the pre-1890 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons. Each season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian tropical cyclone season has no bounds, but they tend to form between April and December, peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. Below are the most significant cyclones in the time period. Because much of the North Indian coastline is near sea level and prone to flooding, these cyclones can easily kill many with storm surge and flooding. These cyclones are among the deadliest on earth in terms of numbers killed.
Lohachara Island was an islet which was permanently flooded in the 1980s. It was located in the Hooghly River as part of the Sundarban delta in the Sundarban National Park, located near the Indian state of West Bengal. The definite disappearance of the island was reported by Indian researchers in December 2006, which led to international press coverage. No specific study was ever done to prove that the island was permanently inundated because of sea level rise.
Ramgati is an upazila (sub-district) of Lakshmipur District in Bangladesh, part of the Chittagong Division. The Government of Bangladesh plans to build an airport in this upazila.
Hatiya is an upazila (sub-district) of Noakhali District in Bangladesh's Chittagong Division. It encompasses several islands of Bangladesh, most notably Hatiya Island, Bhasan Char, Nijhum Dwip and Jahazir Char.
Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Sidr was a tropical cyclone that resulted in one of the worst natural disasters in Bangladesh. The fourth named storm of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Sidr formed in the central Bay of Bengal, and quickly strengthened to reach peak 1-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph), making it a Category-5 equivalent tropical cyclone on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The storm eventually made landfall in Bangladesh on November 15, 2007, causing large-scale evacuations. At least 3,447 deaths have been blamed on the storm, with some estimates reaching 15,000.
The 1998 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an active season in annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Sea to the west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center releases unofficial advisories. An average of four to six storms form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
Cyclonic Storm Bijli, was the first tropical cyclone to form during the 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Bijli formed from an area of Low Pressure on April 14. Later that evening, RSMC New Delhi upgraded the low-pressure area to a Depression and designated it as BOB 01. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) then issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert for the system and soon after designated it as Tropical Depression 01B. On the evening of April 15, both RSMC New Delhi and the JTWC reported that the system had intensified into a tropical storm, with the former naming it Bilji. Soon after, Bilji reached its peak intensity as it approached the coast of Bangladesh. However, on the morning of April 17, Bijli weakened to a deep depression due to land interaction, before making landfall just south of Chittagong. The remnants of Bilji continued to weaken as they tracked across northern Myanmar, before RSMC New Delhi issued their last advisory on April 18. The word Bijli refers to lightning in Hindi.
Severe Cyclonic Storm Aila was the second named tropical cyclone of the 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Warned by both the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RMSC) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Aila formed over a disturbance over the Bay of Bengal on May 23, 2009 and started to intensify and organize reaching sustained wind speeds of 110 kmh (70 mph). It was the worst natural disaster to affect Bangladesh since Cyclone Sidr in November 2007. A relatively strong tropical cyclone, it caused extensive damage in India and Bangladesh.
Dhal Char is the southernmost island of Bhola district in Bangladesh. The island has attracted the attention of researchers, environmentalists and tourists alike for its unique position as one of the country's remotest permanently inhabited islands, far out in the Bay of Bengal. It also one of the most threatened pieces of land in the world as a result of rising sea levels, due to climate change.
Subarnachar is an upazila (sub-district) of the Noakhali District, located in Bangladesh's Chittagong Division. The Bhulua River and Sandwip Channel flows through it. A number of Subarnachar residents have migrated to Oman where they form a small diaspora community.
Bhasan Char, also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya Upazila, Bangladesh. Until 2019 it was known as Thengar Char. It is located in the Bay of Bengal, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Sandwip island and 37 miles (60 km) from the mainland.
Kutupalong refugee camp is the world's largest refugee camp. It is in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, inhabited mostly by Rohingya refugees that fled from ethnic and religious persecution in neighboring Myanmar. It is one of two government-run refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, the other being the Nayapara refugee camp.
Urir Char is an inhabited island in the Bay of Bengal. It is also a union parishad of Sandwip Upazila under Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh.
Char Kukri-Mukri Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in southern Charfession Upazila of Bangladesh, located on Char Kukri Mukri island in the Bay of Bengal in the south of the country. The area of the sanctuary is 40 ha, and is elongated in shape. It is 130 km from Barisal town in the gangetic delta on the mouth of Meghna river. It is also called Charfasson wildlife sanctuary. Most part of the sanctuary is submerged twice in a day due to high tide and is covered with dense mangrove vegetation. The soil type is clay.
Swarna Dweep, also known as Jahaijar Char, is an inhabited island in the Bay of Bengal. It is a part of the Hatiya Upazila under Noakhali District of Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. It is administered by Bangladesh Army who use the Island as a training camp. The Island is 360 square kilometer and is located in the Meghna estuary.
Tropical Storm One was an extremely deadly cyclone which developed in the central Bay of Bengal on May 22, strengthened to a peak of 70 mph winds before hitting Bangladesh on the 25th. The storm brought torrential rains and flooding, killing around 11,069 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.