LashayFmm33111 at 20:20, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T20:20:07Z

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[[File:1864 Machilipatnam Cyclone Memorial.jpg|thumb|right|300px|1864 Machilipatnam Cyclone Memorial]]A tropical cyclone hit the coastal town of [[Machilipatnam]] (Masulipatam in old records) on 1 November 1864 causing heavy casualties and damaging properties.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mackenzie |first=Gordon |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.04156/page/119/mode/1up?view=theater |title=A manual of the Kistna district, in the presidency of Madras |date=1883 |publisher=Lawrence Asylm Press, Madras |pages=119}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Perspective CWD |url=https://rsmcnewdelhi.imd.gov.in/historical-perspective-cwd.php |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=rsmcnewdelhi.imd.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Edgar Thursion |url=https://archive.org/details/TheMadrasPresidency/page/n61/mode/2up?q=1864+cyclone+masulipatam&view=theater |title=The Madras Presidency |date=1913 |pages=50 |language=English}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Wm H Allen and Co. |first=London (Publisher) |url=https://archive.org/details/allensindianmail1865jan/AllensIndianMail1865Jan/page/140/mode/1up |title=Allen's Indian Mail and Official Gazette 1865 Jan.-Dec. Volume 23 |date=1865 |page=7,34,48,92,209,231}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last= |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.91015/page/n372/mode/1up |title=Report On The Administration Of The Madras Presidency(1864-65) |year=1866 |pages=372–420}}</ref> A memorial was erected in [[Machilipatnam]] to the memory of an estimated 30000 deaths.<ref name=":0" />

== History ==
During October 1864, a [[1864 Calcutta cyclone|tropical cyclone]] impacted [[Kolkata]] leading to loss of life and properties. Few weeks later on 1 November, another severe cyclone impacted Machilipatnam.<ref name=":4" /> The day started with overcast skies and by afternoon it started raining and wind picked speed.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A-Y4_8tNeBQC |title=The Cyclone at Masulipatam. Reprinted, with Additions, from the Madras Observer of December 3, 1864, Etc |date=1864 |language=en}}</ref> Coinciding with the high tides resulted in a 13-foot high [[storm surge]] that went 17 miles inland devastating everything on its path while receding as well.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Eye-witness accounts of the night describe the cyclone impact in detail during and after the impact.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=John Noble |url=https://archive.org/details/amemoirrevrober00noblgoog/page/n344/mode/2up |title=A Memoir of the Rev. Robert Turlington Noble: Missionary to the Telugu People in South India |date=1868 |publisher=Seeley, Jackson and Halliday |others=Harvard University |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Church Missionary Society |url=https://archive.org/details/1865TheChurchMissionaryGleanerNewSeriesVol15/page/76/mode/2up |title=1865 The Church Missionary Gleaner New Series Vol 15 |date=1865 |pages=18–20, 76–78}}</ref>

== Impact ==
The village of Gilakaladindi and the English/Dutch fort were heavily impacted that resulted in an estimated death of 30,000 people.<ref name=":0" /> The impact was felt up to [[Vijayawada]] and [[Guntur]] leading to loss of lives.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.4714/page/n285/mode/2up |title=Annals Of Indian Administration - Vol.10 |date=1866 |publisher=Marshall D’Cruz, Serampore |pages=276–278}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1865-01-27 |title=FRIGHTFUL CYCLONE AT MASULIPATAM. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1267528/51432 |access-date=2025-05-08 |work=Brisbane Courier}}</ref> After hearing the news of the disaster, the [[Madras Presidency|Madras presidency]] sent rescue boats with relief aid and medical personnel. A vessel named Arabia sent from Madras reached [[Machilipatnam|Masulipatam]] port on 17 November and returned with some of the surviving European and East Indian Company personnel.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />

The East India government started the 'Masulipatam Relief Fund' in order to aid the rescue and rehabilitation efforts of the people impacted by the cyclone.<ref name=":2" /> An official report from the health officer mentioned how the inroads of sea water contaminated fresh water wells that triggered diarrhea and fevers. Further the disaster made agriculture lands uncultivable for years and destroyed the vegetation.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dickens |first=Charles |url=https://archive.org/details/allyearround13dick/page/106/mode/2up |title=All the year round; from January 28 to July 22 1865 |publisher=New York, J. M. Emerson & co. |others=University of Buckingham |year=1865 |volume=xiii |location=London |pages=106–109}}</ref> Queen of England in her parliament opening speech in 1865 made a mention about the cyclones.<ref name=":2" />

This cyclone along with the [[1864 Calcutta cyclone]] prompted the British East Indian Company to develop a cyclone warning system in India.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mohapatra |first1=M. |last2=Sharma |first2=M. |last3=Pattanaik |first3=D. R. |date=2025-01-16 |title=Evolution of Cyclone Monitoring and Forecasting System in India: A review |url=https://mausamjournal.imd.gov.in/index.php/MAUSAM/article/view/6940 |journal=MAUSAM |language=en |volume=76 |issue=1 |page=103 |doi=10.54302/mausam.v76i1.6940 |bibcode=2025Mausa..76..103M |issn=0252-9416 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214091806/https://mausamjournal.imd.gov.in/index.php/MAUSAM/article/view/6940 |archive-date=2025-02-14 |doi-access=free |access-date=2025-04-28 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Memorial ==
Manuel Fruvall who lost his brothers' family in the disaster and Thornhill, the then [[district magistrate]] of Machilipatnam built a memorial to commemorate the disaster and the loss of lives. This memorial is inside the Catholic burial ground close to Bandar kota in Machilipatnam and as of 2024, it is in dilapidated [https://web.archive.org/web/20240808141931/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/cyclone-memorial-cries-for-attention/article6503816.ece state].<ref>{{cite book |author=Cotton |first=Julian James |url=https://archive.org/details/ListOfInscriptionsOnTombsOrMonumentsMadrasVol2Cotton/List%20of%20Inscriptions%20on%20Tombs%20or%20Monuments%20%20Madras%20Vol%202%20%28Cotton%29/page/n148/mode/1up |title=LIST OF INSCRIPTIONS ON TOMBS OR MONUMENTS IN MADRAS POSSESSING HISTORICAL OR ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTEREST |publisher=Superintendent Government Press, Madras |year=1905 |place=Madras |pages=235–236}}</ref>
[[File:1864 Machilipatnam Cyclone Memorial Inscription.jpg|thumb|right|300px|1864 Machilipatnam Cyclone Memorial Inscription]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:1864 in India]]
[[Category:Meteorological events in 1864]]
[[Category:November 1864]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in India]]
[[Category:Tropical cyclones in India]]
[[Category:1864 disasters]]
[[Category:1860s disasters in Asia]]
[[Category:19th-century disasters in India]]
{{improve categories|date=July 2025}}

1864 Machilipatnam cyclone - Revision history

LashayFmm33111 at 20:20, 13 March 2026