NATURAL DISASTERS - CYCLONE 1970 Bhola Cyclone of Bangladesh November 12, 1970:   It was a devastating tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and India's West Bengal killing about half a million people on this day. The MV Mahajagmitra, a 5,500-ton freighter en route from Calcutta to Kuwait, was sunk by the storm on this day, with the loss of all 50 people on board.