A Timeline of Major Indian Ocean Cyclones, 1999-2024

How to Read This Timeline

Each entry gives the storm's lifetime, its peak IMD sustained wind and the number of deaths. Wind speeds are 3-minute averages from IMD. Follow the links to the full archive page for each storm.

1999: Odisha Super Cyclone

25 October to 4 November. Peak 260 km/h. 9,887 deaths. The strongest cyclone ever recorded in the north Indian Ocean, and the start of India's modern cyclone preparedness. Full record

2007: Gonu

1 to 8 June. Peak 240 km/h. 78 deaths. The first Category 5 equivalent cyclone in the Arabian Sea, which hit Oman. Full record

2008: Nargis

27 April to 3 May. Peak 165 km/h. 138,373 deaths. A surge into Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta. Full record

2013: Phailin

4 to 14 October. Peak 215 km/h. 46 deaths. A powerful cyclone met by a large evacuation. Full record

2014: Hudhud

7 to 14 October. Peak 185 km/h. 116 deaths. Devastated Visakhapatnam and the Andhra Pradesh coast. Full record

2016: Vardah

6 to 13 December. Peak 130 km/h. 47 deaths. Struck Chennai and uprooted thousands of trees. Full record

2017: Ockhi

29 November to 6 December. Peak 155 km/h. 318 deaths. A Very Severe Cyclonic Storm that crossed Sri Lanka and struck Lakshadweep and southern India, catching many fishermen at sea. Full record

2018: Titli

8 to 12 October. Peak 150 km/h. 89 deaths. Crossed near Palasa, Andhra Pradesh, and flooded northern Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Full record

2018: Gaja

10 to 22 November. Peak 130 km/h. 52 deaths. Crossed the Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam. Full record

2019: Fani

26 April to 5 May. Peak 215 km/h. 81 deaths. Hit Puri, Odisha, in a widely praised evacuation. Full record

2019: Kyarr

24 October to 3 November. Peak 240 km/h. 5 deaths. An Arabian Sea Super Cyclonic Storm that never made landfall. Full record

2020: Amphan

16 to 21 May. Peak 240 km/h. 133 deaths. The first Super Cyclonic Storm in the Bay of Bengal since 1999, hitting West Bengal during the COVID-19 lockdown. Full record

2021: Tauktae

14 to 19 May. Peak 185 km/h. 174 deaths. An Arabian Sea Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm that crossed the Gujarat coast near Diu. Full record

2021: Yaas

23 to 26 May. Peak 140 km/h. 20 deaths. Crossed the Odisha coast north of Dhamra, with sea flooding in Odisha and West Bengal. Full record

2023: Mocha

9 to 15 May. Peak 215 km/h. 463 deaths. One of the strongest cyclones to strike Myanmar. Full record

2023: Biparjoy

6 to 19 June. Peak 165 km/h. 17 deaths. A long-lived Arabian Sea storm that crossed the Kutch coast of Gujarat. Full record

2023: Michaung

1 to 6 December. Peak 100 km/h. 17 deaths. Its heavy rain flooded Chennai before it crossed near Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh. Full record

2024: Remal

24 to 28 May. Peak 110 km/h. 61 deaths. Crossed the coast between Sagar Island and Khepupara, Bangladesh. Full record

Patterns

• Most of these storms came in the pre-monsoon (April-June) and post-monsoon (October-December) seasons.
• Deaths in India have fallen sharply since 1999 even as storms stayed powerful.
• Nargis, by far the deadliest storm in the list, struck Myanmar, and so did Mocha in 2023.
• The west coast is on the list more often in recent years, with Ockhi, Tauktae and Biparjoy.

This list covers the storms in our archive, not every Indian Ocean cyclone. Explore the whole collection in the archive.