View source for 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone

{{Short description|1977 weather event}}
{{lead too short|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox weather event
| image = Nov1977indiatc.png
| caption = Satellite image of the storm on 19&nbsp;November, prior to making landfall in Andhra Pradesh
| formed = {{start date|df=yes|1977|11|14}}
| remnant = {{start date|df=yes|1977|11|20}}
| dissipated = {{start date|df=yes|1977|11|21}}
}}{{Infobox weather event/IMD
| winds = 125
| pressure = 943
}}{{Infobox weather event/JTWC
| basin = nio
| winds = 110
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| year = 1977
| damage = 196290000
| fatalities = 10,000 (official)<br/>Estimated up to 50,000
| areas = [[Andhra Pradesh]]
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer
| season = [[1977 North Indian Ocean cyclone season]]
}}

The '''1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone''' was a devastating [[tropical cyclone]] that hit [[Andhra Pradesh]] in November 1977, killing at least 10,000 people.<ref name=":0">The storm in Orissa. Economist, 00130613, 11/6/1999, Vol. 353, Issue 8144</ref> The worst affected areas were in the [[Krishna River]] delta region. The island of [[Diviseema]], which was hit by a {{convert|7|m|ft|adj=mid|-high|abbr=off|spell=in}} storm surge, experienced a loss of life running into the thousands. The large loss of life prompted the establishment of early warning meteorological stations on the coast of [[Andhra Pradesh]]. Cyclone shelters and other measures for disaster management were also taken. A memorial, at the point of furthest advance of the tidal wave, near the town of [[Avanigadda]], was built in memory of the people who died in the storm.

==Meteorological history==
{{storm path|06B 1977 track.png}}

The origins of the 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone can be traced to a weak tropical disturbance which was first noted on satellite imagery on the morning of 14&nbsp;November while located roughly {{convert|520|km|mi|abbr=on}} southwest of the [[Nicobar Islands]].{{refn|All dates are based on Coordinated Universal Time unless otherwise noted.|group="nb"}}<ref name="JTWC">{{cite report|last1=Morford|first1=Dean R.|last2=Lavin|first2=James K.|title=1977 Annual Typhoon Report|url=http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/atcr/1977atcr.pdf|website=Naval Oceanography Operations Command|publisher=Joint Typhoon Warning Center|accessdate=2 March 2019|location=Guam, Mariana Islands, United States|pages=51–54|date=1978|archive-date=25 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925075853/https://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/atcr/1977atcr.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Traveling due west at {{convert|25|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} along the southern periphery of the mid-tropospheric subtropical [[Trough (meteorology)|ridge]], the disturbance steadily organized, with increased banding noted on satellite imagery. This increase in organization prompted the [[India Meteorological Department]] (IMD) to report that the disturbance had intensified into a [[Tropical cyclone scales#North Indian Ocean|deep depression]] later that morning,{{refn|The [[India Meteorological Department]] is the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the northern Indian Ocean.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=World Meteorological Organization|year=2011|accessdate=2 March 2019|title=RSMCs and TCWCs|url=http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/tcp/RSMC-TCWC.html}}</ref>|group="nb"}}<ref name="johns">{{cite journal|last1=Johns|first1=B.|last2=Dube|first2=S. K.|last3=Mohanty|first3=U. C.| last4= Sinha|first4=P. C.|date=October 1981|title=Numerical simulation of the surge generated by the 1977 Andhra cyclone|journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society|volume=107|issue=454|pages=919–934|doi= 10.1002/qj.49710745411|bibcode=1981QJRMS.107..919J }}</ref> and the [[Joint Typhoon Warning Center]] (JTWC) to issue a [[Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert]] for the system at 13:10&nbsp;UTC that afternoon.{{refn|The [[Joint Typhoon Warning Center]] is a joint [[United States Navy]]&nbsp;– [[United States Air Force]] task force that issues tropical cyclone warnings for the western Pacific Ocean and other regions.<ref>{{cite web|work=Joint Typhoon Warning Center|publisher=United States Navy|title=Joint Typhoon Warning Center Mission Statement|year=2011|accessdate=2 March 2019| url=https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc/menu/JTWC_mission.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070726103400/https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc/menu/JTWC_mission.html|archivedate=26 July 2007}}</ref>|group="nb"}} At 08:00&nbsp;UTC on 15&nbsp;November, the JTWC issued its first advisory on the system as satellite data indicated that the storm had continued to strengthen, with estimated one-minute sustained wind speeds of {{convert|75|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name="JTWC"/>

While the system was initially developing, an upper tropospheric [[Trough (meteorology)|trough]] had formed over northern and central India and produced a break in the subtropical ridge. As the storm traveled towards this break in the ridge on 15&nbsp;November, the mid-tropospheric [[anticyclone]] over the system weakened, reducing the storm's steering flow and causing the system to slow to a {{convert|7|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} northwestwards movement. In addition, the divergent southwesterly flow produced by the trough resulted in the system beginning a period of rapid intensification. Early on 16&nbsp;November, the system intensified into a Category 1-equivalent tropical cyclone on the [[Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale]]; an [[eye (cyclone)|eye]] was observed on satellite imagery later that morning.<ref name="JTWC"/>
[[File:Cyclones 05B and 06B.png|thumb|The cyclone alongside 05B on 17 November]]
For the next two days, the tropical cyclone continued to strengthen while traveling generally towards the north-northwest. During this time period, increased organization, such as tighter banding features and a progressively more distinct eye, were observed on satellite imagery. At 10:30&nbsp;UTC on 17&nbsp;November, the ship ''Jagatswami'' reported winds of {{convert|195|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} and a minimum [[barometric pressure]] of {{convert|948|hPa|inHg|abbr=on|sigfig=4}} off the Indian coast.<ref name="cyclone-history">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/static/cyclone-history-bb.htm|title=Historical records of Severe Cyclones which formed in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall at the eastern coast of India during the period from 1970-1999|author=India Meteorological Department|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925101914/http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/static/cyclone-history-bb.htm|archive-date=25 September 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=2 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="ap-cyclone-trends">{{Cite journal|last1=Raghavan|first1=S.|last2=Rajesh|first2=S.|date=May 2003|title=Trends in Tropical Cyclone Impact: A Study in Andhra Pradesh, India: A Study in Andhra Pradesh, India|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|language=en|volume=84|issue=5|pages=635–644|doi=10.1175/BAMS-84-5-635|issn=0003-0007|doi-access=free}}</ref> The next evening, the JTWC estimated that the system had attained its peak intensity as a Category 3-equivalent tropical cyclone, with one-minute sustained winds of {{convert|205|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}, while located roughly {{convert|140|km|mi|abbr=on}} off the coast of Andhra Pradesh.<ref name="JTWC"/> Around this time, the IMD estimated that the system had three-minute sustained winds of {{convert|230|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}—which would classify the system as a modern-day [[Tropical cyclone scales#North Indian Ocean|super cyclonic storm]]—and a minimum barometric pressure of {{convert|943|hPa|inHg|abbr=on|sigfig=4}}.<ref name="johns"/><ref name="IMDWind">{{cite journal|author1=G.S. Mandal|author2=Akhilesh Gupta|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Indian Meteorological Society|journal=Advances in Tropical Meteorology|year=1996|location=New Delhi, India|title=The Wind Structure, Size and Damage Potential of Some Recent Cyclone of Hurricane Intensity in the North Indian Ocean|page=421|issue=50}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery|date=September 2011|accessdate=2 March 2019|title=Cyclones, storm surges, floods, landslides|page=9|url=https://www.gfdrr.org/gfdrr/sites/gfdrr.org/files/1_Introduction.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426055441/https://www.gfdrr.org/gfdrr/sites/gfdrr.org/files/1_Introduction.pdf |archivedate=26 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="ap-cyclone-trends"/>

As the cyclone approached the Indian coast, it accelerated to {{convert|17|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} while slightly weakening from its peak intensity. The storm made landfall near [[Chirala]], in the [[Prakasam district]] of central Andhra Pradesh, around 11:00&nbsp;UTC on 19&nbsp;November with one-minute sustained winds of {{convert|195|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. Moving northwards over flat agricultural lands, the storm weakened, with the JTWC issuing its final warning at 20:00&nbsp;UTC that evening.<ref name="JTWC"/> The IMD continued tracking the system, reporting that it weakened into an area of low pressure on the evening of 20&nbsp;November before dissipating over southeastern [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Odisha]] the next evening.<ref name="cyclone-history"/>

== Impact ==
The worst affected areas were in the [[Krishna River]] delta region. The island of [[Diviseema]], which was hit by a {{convert|7|m|ft|adj=mid|-high|abbr=off|spell=in}} [[storm surge]], experienced a loss of life running into the thousands. Hundreds of bodies were floating in the waters and bodies bloated beyond recognition were consigned to mass pyres. [[Landslides]] ripped off the railway lines in the Waltair-Kirandal route. About 100 people who had left their homes to seek shelter in a church in [[Bapatla]] town were killed when the building collapsed. Fields of paddy and cash crops were submerged by the [[storm surge|tidal waves]]. Thirteen sailing vessels, including some foreign ones, went missing in the [[storm]].

About 100 villages were marooned or washed away by the cyclonic storms and the ensuing floods and a total of 10,841 killed or missing, and 34 [[lakh]] rendered [[homeless]]. According to the Janata party, at least 50,000 people were believed to have been killed by the storm, substantially higher than reported by the government.<ref name="BDN1"/>

== Aftermath ==
The large loss of life prompted the establishment of early warning meteorological stations on the coast of [[Andhra Pradesh]]. Cyclone shelters and other measures for disaster management were also taken. A memorial, at the point of furthest advance of the tidal wave, near the town of [[Avanigadda]], was built in memory of the people who died in the storm.

The next [[cyclone]] ([[1990 Andhra Pradesh cyclone|1990]]) that also occurred in Andhra Pradesh, showed that there was a large improvement in [[disaster management]], effective warnings ahead of time, and better meteorological equipment which dramatically reduced the death rate (compared to the cyclone in 1977).<ref name="ap-cyclone-trends"/>

In the wake of the disaster, officials in India were accused of covering up the scale of damage and loss of life. Members of the [[Janata Party|Janata party]], an opposing political group to the state government in place at the time, claimed that the cover up was to hide criminal negligence which resulted in tens of thousands of fatalities.<ref name="BDN1">{{cite news|author=The Associated Press|work=Bangor Daily News|date=November 28, 1977|accessdate=November 14, 2010|title=Coverup alleged in India's cyclone disaster|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=np8zAAAAIBAJ&dq=india%20cyclone&pg=1236%2C4367318}}</ref> Following these accusations, five high-ranking government officials resigned from their positions.<ref>{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 2, 1977|title=5 in India Resign Over Cyclone Aid}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Tropical cyclones}}
*[[1984 Sriharikota cyclone]]
*[[Typhoon Gay (1989)]]
*[[1996 Andhra Pradesh cyclone]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Super Cyclonic Storms}}
{{Natural disasters in India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1977 Andhra Pradesh Cyclone}}
[[Category:Tropical cyclones in 1977|Andhra Pradesh Cyclone, 1977]]
[[Category:1977 in India|Andhra Pradesh Cyclone, 1977]]
[[Category:Tropical cyclones in India]]
[[Category:Super cyclonic storms]]