Cyclone Nargis was a strong tropical cyclone that caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar(Burma).It began as an intense tropical depression on April 27th 2008 in the Bay of Bengal but changed direction and hit the shores of Myanmar(Burma) on May 2, 2008. with Little warning given, Winds of 200 km per hour and the low pressure created a storm surge measuring 6.3 metres high.It was one of the deadliest storms in recorded history, bringing fierce winds and heavy rain that especially devastated the Irrawaddy Delta region and the former capital city of Rangoon.It blew away 700,000 homes in the delta, killed three-fourths of the livestock, sank half the fishing fleet and salted a million acres of rice paddies with its seawater surges

The storm which would become Cyclone Nargis formed in the Northern Indian ocean in the bay of Bengal. In the last week of April on the27th it began as an intense tropical depression developed from an area of low pressure formed over the bay of Bengal, conditions were fitting with warm waters and low vertical wind shear that created an environment right for the development of a cyclone. By the 29th it had progressed to a Tropical storm and was predicted to hit Bangladesh but due to seawater temperature Nargis changed its course and headed for Myanmar. Eventually the storm exploded in intensity and on the 2nd of May Cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy River Delta with winds of over 217kph bringing torrential rain and storm surges-the leading killer in cyclones and hurricanes around the world, to low lying agricultural land. There were numerous inlets through the Irrawaddy Delta region so as the water pulled in it had no place to go but pile high with 600mm of rain in this area another factor that allowed the storm surge to really build was a shallow continental shelf ,if we had a deeper slope it would have blocked the storm surge but in this case the water piled straight on into the land.

Flooding and mudslides due to heavy rainfall. The destruction of coastal vegetation from the strong winds left exposed soil open to erosion. Storm surges rolled over the low lying areas, flooding them with up to 3.5-4 metres of salt water. This killed salt intolerant plants and seeped down to contaminate aquifers. Flooding occurred as a result of the rainfall and the storm surge. Researchers concluded that Cyclone Nargis flooded about 14,402 square kilometers. Enormous waves severely eroded coastal areas all along the southern coast of Myanmar. Some islets in the delta area disappeared completely. Marine habitats were damaged or destroyed.Cyclone Nargis generated wave heights of up to 9metres which crashed onto the southern coast of Myanmar causing coastal erosion. As the cyclone passed on, winds and rains eased, sea levels fell and waves became less ferocious. The retreating sea dumped sand along coastal areas which were rice farming regions. destroyed 38,000 hectares (ha) of natural and replanted mangrovessubmerged over 63 percent of paddy fields damaged 43 percent of freshwater ponds.damaged 35,000 natural and planted mangroves and other treespollution of surface and groundwatersedimentation of rivers

$10 billion worth of damageMajority of the population worked on the flooded rice fields therefore they lost their harvest and income75% of buildings collapsed but on the delta 95% collapsed1,163 temples were destroyedThere was a lack of food, water for survivorsMany children were orphanedDiseases spread with many survivors dying from disease50,000 people are still missingA death toil of at least 138 000 people has been quoted, but estimates vary widely, it is thought that 80,000 people could have died in the town of Labutta alone, making the 84,000people death toll seem unrealisticIt is estimated that at least 2.4 million people were severely affected by this cyclone. Structural damage throughout Myanmar was extensive, causing over a million to become homeless The government officials didnt know what hit them for the first couple of days after the cyclone hitting Burma initially the response of the military government was appalling as they did not give permission to other countries to help and nourish the victims as they did not want foreign people in the country, leaving the inhabitants of Burma struggling for the first few days without any money, shelter food, connections or transport,Also the transport and communication links were Damaged making it hard for national and international search teams to help.It Was only local people on hand trying to find and rescue victims.on may 9th Myanmar finally allowed international aid but it was still limited to food ,medicine and basic supplies,foreign aid workers were banned from the country only until may 19th- a full three weeks after the disaster were search and rescue teams allowed and sent from outside countries plus Food,tents,water and water purification was sent of donated by countries and ngos along with medical teams and also aid money.Another short term response was on the 19th of may when the ocha launched the burmese hic website in the purpose of improving information exchange and collaboration between operational agencies responding to nargis .also locals and international aid had to bury the dead to stop the spread of diseases(recovery of bodies)Aid was disrupted as ten days a massive earthquake known as the Sichuan earthquake, which measured 7.9 in magnitude, hit later nearby central china and it alone had taken 87,476 lives after the event.