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
May 1997 Bangladesh cyclone storm, water-borne diseases began to spread due to standing water and bodies being left out in the open. In response to the disaster, funds from across the globe were sent into Bangladesh to help the country recover. On May 13, a near-equatorial trough developed. The poorly organized system slowly tracked towards the north-northwest. The following day, deep convection consolidated around the center of circulation and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) classified the system as Tropical Cyclone 01B. On May 15, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) also began monitoring the system; however, they classified it as Depression BOB 01. Favorable