Cyclone Nargis people, and the deadliest tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean since the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, which killed at least 138,866 people. One aid worker claimed that the death toll from the cyclone and its aftermath might reach 300,000; if correct, Nargis was the second-deadliest cyclone ever and the fifth-deadliest natural disaster of the 20th century, after the 1931 China floods, the 1887 Yellow River flood, the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake, and the 1970 Bhola cyclone in Bangladesh. Myanmar's military leaders did not count the full death toll from Nargis (leaving the area shortly after it hit), and this led to
Cyclone Nargis and there have been allegations that government officials stopped updating the death toll after 138,000 to minimize political fallout. The feared 'second wave' of fatalities from disease and lack of relief efforts never materialized. Damage was estimated at over K62,988,000,000 (US$10 billion), which made it the most damaging cyclone ever recorded in this basin. The first named storm of the 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Nargis developed on 27 April in the central area of Bay of Bengal. Initially, the storm tracked slowly northwestward, and encountering favourable conditions, it quickly strengthened. Dry air weakened the cyclone on 29 April,