Cyclone Viyaru

Cyclonic Storm Viyaru

Cyclone Viyaru at peak intensity, approaching Bangladesh on May 15
Meteorological history
Formed	May 10, 2013
Dissipated	May 17, 2013
Cyclonic storm
3-minute sustained (IMD)
Highest winds	85 km/h (50 mph)
Lowest pressure	990 hPa (mbar); 29.23 inHg
Tropical storm
1-minute sustained (SSHWS)
Highest winds	85 km/h (50 mph)
Lowest pressure	989 hPa (mbar); 29.21 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	107 total
Missing	6
Damage	$35.3 million
Areas affected	Indonesia Sri Lanka India Thailand Myanmar Bangladesh
IBTrACS
Part of the 2013 North Indian Ocean cyclone season

Cyclonic Storm Viyaru (/vɪˈjə.ruː/), operationally known as Cyclonic Storm Mahasen (/ˈməhɑːsɛn/),^{[nb 1]} was a relatively weak tropical cyclone that caused loss of life across six countries in Southern and Southeastern Asia. Originating from an area of low pressure over the southern Bay of Bengal in early May 2013, Viyaru slowly consolidated into a depression on May 10. The depression gained forward momentum and attained gale-force winds on May 11 and was designated as Cyclonic Storm Viyaru, the first named storm of the season. Owing to adverse atmospheric conditions, the depression struggled to maintain organized convection as it moved closer to eastern India. On May 14, the exposed circulation of Viyaru turned northeastward. The following day, conditions again allowed for the storm to intensify. Early on May 16, the cyclone attained its peak intensity with winds of 85 km/h (55 mph) and a barometric pressure of 990 mbar (hPa; 29.23 inHg).^{[nb 2]} Shortly thereafter Viyaru made landfall near Chittagong, Bangladesh. On May 17, it moved over the eastern Indian state of Nagaland.

The name Viyaru was chosen by Sri Lanka, which means 'frugality' in Sinhalese.

Early in the storm's existence, it brought flooding rains to much of northwestern Indonesia, resulting in significant damage. At least four people died and six others were reported missing. Offshore, a further 11 people went missing and were feared dead. In preparation for the storm, large-scale evacuations were recommended for parts of Myanmar. This resulted with people overcrowding boats to escape, and one or several vessels capsized, causing at least 39 deaths; 42 people were rescued while 19 others were unaccounted for and feared dead. The storm's expansive cloud mass also brought unsettled weather to Sri Lanka, Thailand, and southeastern India. Severe storms in India and Sri Lanka were responsible for at least 16 fatalities and significant damage; one person died in Thailand. Striking Bangladesh in a weaker state than initially expected, the storm caused moderate to severe damage. A total of 95,003 poorly constructed huts were damaged or destroyed, 17 people died, and nearly 1.3 million were affected across the country. Losses to industry reached ৳20 billion (US$257 million). Myanmar was spared damage and further casualties.

Operationally, the storm was referred to as Mahasen; however, this stirred some controversy from nationalists and officials in Sri Lanka. They claimed that the name comes from King Mahasena of Anuradhapura who brought prosperity to the island, thus naming a destructive force of nature after him would be improper. As such, Sri Lankan agencies referred to the system as a nameless cyclone and requested that international agencies do the same. The name had been submitted to be used in the basin by Sri Lanka in 2003.^[1][2] The India Meteorological Department later renamed the system as Viyaru in their final reports and removed Mahasen from all previous archived advisories.^[3][4]

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