If you read the Weather News regularly you may remember that a few days ago we were talking about cyclone '02B' near Myanmar. I can now tell you about the destruction that this particular cyclone caused in the area back on May 19th.

On the 17th May a cyclone formed in the Indian Ocean. Over the warm waters it intensified, first of all moving south westwards, but then swinging round and moving towards the east - straight towards the west coast of Myanmar. By the time it arrived on the morning of the 19th May local time the winds were at 86mph, with gusts in excess of 100mph reported.

The cyclone hit the west coast near to the border with Bangladesh, affecting Rakhine state in particular. Reports are still coming in, but at this stage it seems that at least 140 people were killed by the storm and 18,000 were left homeless. At least 84 ships were lost at sea as well as an ocean liner. Some local people report that the cyclone was even worse that the one that hit in 1968, the last major one to hit Myanmar.

The destruction that this cyclone caused came just a year after the flooding when a million acres of land were under water. This was the worst flooding in 30 years.

Meanwhile in Hispaniola in the Caribbean, the rain has not been falling recently, although showers are still forecast in the next few days. However, the rescue efforts have been hampered in Jimini (Dominican Republic) by a minor earthquake. The main weather problem has been the sun and high temperatures. On Saturday the temperature reached 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).

Related Links :
cyclone 02B 2004
cyclone 02B map

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Weather News from the last five days:
29/05/2004
28/05/2004
27/05/2004
26/05/2004
25/05/2004

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