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Pakistan:Tropical Cyclone:1999/05

Duration1999/05 On the evening of 20 May 1999 the coastal areas of Sindh province were hit by the Tropical Cyclone "2A" devastating several towns and fishermen communities in Thatta, Badin and Tharparkar districts.
Country or DistrictPakistan
NameTropical Cyclone

Headline(Source, Date)
Personal Injury Material Damage Others
ADIC REPORT - The Pakistan Cyclone, May 1999
The cyclone killed at least 400 people, and more than 60,000 people were said to be missing at one time.
The infrastructure for water and power supply was destroyed. Also the road and electric communication were cut.At least 50,000 people were displaced to such areas as southern Sindh province. At one time, 13,000 people were living in the camp set up by the army.



OCHA Situation Report No. 2 99/06/03
Loss of life:168

Villages affected:5,243
Houses destroyed:44,149
Houses damaged:63,008




Catholic Relief Services - Pakistan - Sindh Cyclone Update
In total, nearly 660,000 people have been affected by this cyclone.
Over 7,000 families have totally lost their homes


Sharif announces grant for Pakistani cyclone victims
Around 25,000 homeless people have been sheltered in 32 relief camps in Badin and Thatta districts, out of an estimated 150,000 people affected by the cylone.


About 50 percent of property, cattle and personal belongings have been washed away or destroyed in Badin and Thatta districts.



IFRC update on Pakistan Cyclone
More than 1,200 people are still missing.
Roads have been washed away and telephone poles and electricity lines destroyed.
At least 60,000 hectares of farmland has been seriously damaged and more than 2,000 livestock killed.

The cyclone damaged at least 50,000 houses in more than 600 villages.
Search continues in Pakistan for 1000 people still missing
The death toll range from 231 up to 400.
At least 30 per cent of property cattle and personal belongings have either been washed away or destroyed.


AFP NEWS 25 May 1999
The death toll has risen to 235, with rescue workers finding four more bodies in Malak Raj, one of the worst-affected villages.



Around 15,000 homeless people had been sheltered in 24 relief camps in Thatta and Badin district. The cyclone hit an estimated 150,000 people.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) 99/5/24
Rescue workers searched Monday for more than 1,000 people still missing after a cyclone last week devastated southern Pakistan's coast, as the death toll rose to 231, officials and rescuers said.
Officials said about 50,000 houses and huts were damaged and around 152,000 acres (60,800 hectares) of farmland had been seriously damaged and probably made temporarily uncultivable.


AFP NEWS 99/5/23


About 50,000 houses and huts were damaged and around 60,800 hectares of farmland had been seriously damaged and probably made temporarily uncultivable.



Action by Churches Together (ACT) 99/5/21
The death toll is yet unknown,but up to 700 persons are missing and 2,000 homes totally destroyed.
40,000 acres of land came underwater causing damage to standing crops and mango orchards.


OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Number of lives lost;87 in Thatta 29 in Badin
Population affected;307,000 in Thatta
350,000 in Badin
Number of people in shelters;8,590 in Thatta
10,000 in Badin





Specific Matters
  • NewsEdge 01 Jun 1999
    China's National Red Cross Society Tuesday donated 50,000 U.S. dollars to Pakistan's Red Crescent Society as relief assistance to the cyclone-hit area in southern Sindh province.

Related Links
Report/Articles
  • ADIC REPORT
    The Pakistan Cyclone, May 1999

  • UN Department of Public Information (DPI) 18 Jun 1999

  • Deutsche Presse Agentur 05 Jun 1999

  • Catholic Relief Services 4 Jun 1999

  • OCHA Situation Report No. 2 99/06/03

  • Church World Service 31 May 1999
    CWS-Pakistan and its local partners are working to distribute emergency relief to low-income families affected by cyclone in Pakistan.
  • Catholic Relief Services 28 May 1999
    Over 2,500 families will receive a food basket consisting of the following items by Catholic Relief Services :

    2 tins (8 liters) of vegetable oil
    8.8 pounds of lentils
    132 pounds of wheat flour
    17.6 pounds of sugar
    2.2 pounds of tea leaves
    8 bars of toilet soap
    8 bars of laundry soap
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 28 May 1999
    Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif announced a grant of 50 million dollars to help the survivors of a cyclone last week that killed 254 people.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 27 May 1999
    Saudi Arabia dispatched 65 tonnes of food, medicines and tents to Pakistan on Thursday, a week after a devastating cyclone killed at least 250 people.
  • IFRC Report 27 May 1999
    People drowned or were crushed to death as their houses collapsed in the strong winds and tidal waves.It is estimated some 500,000 people have been affected by the cyclone, but these figures are still unconfirmed due to the inaccessibility of the affected region.
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 26 May 1999
    The search continues in Pakistan for more than one-thousand people still missing after last week's devestating cyclone in the south of the country.
  • AFP NEWS (99/05/26)
    Pakistan cyclone death toll rises past 250
  • Relief Web

  • CNN news May 20, 1999
    Cyclone slammed into Pakistan with winds of up to 275 km/h, causing tidal waves that swept away hundreds of villages and left thousands of people missing.
  • CNN news May 21, 1999
    Navy ships carrying medical teams and divers were dispatched to search for hundreds of people missing.
    But rescue workers were having difficulty reaching the affected area because many of the roads in the area still were under water.
  • CNN news May 22, 1999
    Villagers and rescue workers braved lashing rain and winds to recover 200 bodies from the sea and rescue thousands of survivors.
  • CNN news May 23, 1999
    100 small villages in the Sindh province were destroyed by the cyclone. Rice and sugarcane crops in Sindh's Badin district had been destroyed.
  • AFP NEWS 25 May 1999
    Thousands of people still remain stranded in flooded remote villages a week after a cyclone hit Pakistan's coastal region, leaving a trail of death and destruction.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 24 May 1999
    Rescue workers searched for more than 1,000 people still missing after a cyclone last week devastated southern Pakistan's coast, as the death toll rose to 231.
  • IFRC report 24 May 1999
    Despite the early warning, cyclone 02a destroyed about 200 villages in its path killing 400 people. Over 1,200 people are missing.
  • AFP NEWS 23 May 1999
    Troops and civilians launched a massive rescue operation Sunday after a cyclone that killed 160 people.
  • Action by Churches Together (ACT) 21 May 1999
    Church World Service are proposing distribution of emergency relief in the form of basic shelter materials.

    Please kindly send your contributions to the ACT bank account.
    ACT Co-ordinator, Miriam Lutz (Phone 41-22-791 60 32)
  • OCHA Situation Report No. 1 25 May 1999
    The cyclone has moved into the western part of Indian Rajhistan, has weakened significantly and is likely to become a depression. However, more rains/thunder storms are expected over Khairpur and Sukkar regions and southern Punjab.
  • PAKNEWS 99/5/25
    Around 550 people marooned by floods had been air-lifted by army helicopters or rescued by navy boats.
  • Reuters (1999/5/25)
    It could take a month before life in Pakistan's coastal areas hit by a severe cyclone last week returns to normal, soldiers carrying out relief operations said.
  • Pakistan Press International (99/5/24)
    Pakistan Navy's relief operations in cyclone affected areas of Sindh
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