Cyclone Nargis hit the paradise...

Cyclone Nargis (JTWC designation: 01B, also known as Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Nargis) was a strong tropical cyclone that made landfall in Myanmar (also known as Burma) on May 2, 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and nearly 22,500 fatalities, with a further 41,000 people still missing. It is the deadliest named cyclone in the North Indian Ocean Basin. Nargis was the first tropical cyclone to strike the country since Cyclone Mala made landfall in 2006.

The first named storm of the 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Nargis developed on April 27 in the central Bay of Bengal. Initially it tracked slowly northwestward, and encountering favorable conditions it quickly strengthened. Dry air weakened the cyclone on April 29, though after beginning a steady eastward motion Nargis rapidly intensified to attain peak winds of at least 165 km/h (105 mph) on May 2; the Joint Typhoon Warning Center assessed peak winds of 215 km/h (135 mph). The cyclone moved ashore in the Ayeyarwady Division of Burma near peak intensity, and after passing near the major city of Yangon (Rangoon), the storm gradually weakened until dissipating near the border of Burma and Thailand...

text taken from wikipwdia

Posted in: Asia, Burma, Myanmar, Strange and Interesting