1971 Odisha cyclone

The 1971 Odisha cyclone was a devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Indian state of Odisha (known as Orissa at the time) on October 29, 1971. The cyclone also affected the Indian state of West Bengal as well as East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), which had been devastated by the 1970 Bhola cyclone just less than a year prior and was in the middle of Bangladesh Liberation War.

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}@media all and (max-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{width:auto!important;clear:none!important;float:none!important}}Map keySaffir–Simpson scale.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column} .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)   Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)   Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)   Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)   Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)   Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)   Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)   Unknown Storm type Tropical cyclone Subtropical cyclone Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

This tropical cyclone formed on October 26. Within few hours after its formation, due to the presence of highly favorable conditions, the cyclone underwent rapid intensification, becoming an extremely severe cyclonic storm and Category 3 equivalent cyclone in one and three minute mean windspeeds on 29 October. At the time, the storm's central pressure was 966 hPa. At its peak intensity, the storm made landfall on the coast of Odisha near Paradip early on the morning of October 30 and weakened the same day. It then curved northeast and dissipated on October 31.

The storm surge flooded low lying areas of the Odisha coast, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths and killing 50,000 cattle. Hundreds of thousands of trees were uprooted. The cyclone destroyed more than 800,000 houses. Communications and power lines were cut for days, preventing news of the disaster from reaching the outside world. Coastal districts of Odisha such as Bhadrak, Balasore, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur were widely affected by this cyclone, since gusts were recorded to be up to 175 kph (108-110mph) there.

• 1999 Odisha cyclone
• 1970 Bhola cyclone
• Cyclone Hudhud
• Cyclone Phailin
• Cyclone Fani
• Cyclone Amphan