The accounts of some of the cyclones that struck the coasts of India are given below

1. The oldest and the worst cyclone on record is that of October 1737 which hit Calcutta and took a toll of 3,00,000 lives in the deltaic region. It was accompanied by a 12 metre high surge. A violent earthquake coinciding with this storm enhanced the destruction.
2. Midnapore Cyclone of October 1942 was accompanied by gale wind speed of 225 kmph
3. Rameswaram Cyclone of 17th to 24th December 1964 wiped out Dhanuskodi in Rameswaran Island from the map. A passenger train which left Rameswaram Road station near about the midnight of 22nd was washed off by the storm surges sometimes later, nearly all passengers traveling in the train meeting water graves. The Pamban bridge connecting Mandapam and Rameswaram island was also washed away by the storm surges which could be 3-5 meters high.
4. Bangla Desh Cyclone of 8-13 November 1970 which crossed Bangla Desh coast in the night of 12th was one of the worst in recent times, with storm surges of 4 to 5 metres height at the time of high tides, and with 25 cm of rain in the areas, the inundation took toll of about 3,00,000 people.
5. Andhra Cyclone of 14-20 November 1977 that crossed coast near Nizampatnam in the evening of 19th, took a toll of about 10,000 lives. The Ship Jagatswamini, which went right into the eye of the storm in the evening of 17th experienced maximum wind speed of 194 kmph. As the storm approached the coast, gale winds reaching 200 kmph lashed Prakasam Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari districts. Storm surge of 5 meters high inundated Krishna estuary and the coasts south of Machilipatnam.