2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season tremendous, with 450,000 homes, 4,000 schools, and 75 percent of healthcare facilities destroyed and 350,000 homes severely damaged. With approximately 140,000 fatalities taking place in Myanmar, Nargis is regarded as the worst disaster in the country's history and ranks as the fourth-deadliest tropical cyclone on record. Damage from the storm amounted to 11.7 trillion Burmese kyat (US$12.9 billion), the majority of which occurred within the private sector. In the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, numerous members of the international community were prepared to provide Myanmar with aid. For several weeks, the State Peace and Development Council (Myanmar's military junta) insisted
Cyclone Nargis of low vertical wind shear, before it was classified as a depression by the India Meteorological Department early on 27 April. Initially, the depression moved westward and was classified as a deep depression by the IMD, before the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) initiated advisories and classified the storm as Tropical Cyclone 01B later that day. The system subsequently started to move north-westwards under the steering influence of an anticyclone and an upper level ridge of high pressure. At 0000 UTC, 5:30 AM Indian Standard Time, on 28 April, the IMD upgraded the system to Cyclonic Storm Nargis,