This cyclone brought a devastating storm surge of up to 10 metres (33 ft) high to the Ganges Delta. Largely as a result of this surge, somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 people lost their lives, making this storm the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded and one of the deadliest natural disasters of modern times. The total damage from the storm exceeded $85 million (1970 USD, $480 million 2008 USD), and much of the agricultural and fishing capacity of the region was wiped out. A total of some 3.6 million people suffered direct effects from this cyclone.