Cyclone Aila

Cyclone Aila began as a disturbance on May 21 in the Bay of Bengal, strengthening quickly to a Tropical Cyclone with wind speeds gusting up to 120 km/h (75 mph). Aila made landfall soon after, bringing heavy rains, wind, and an enormous storm surge of seawater that pushed inland, damaging or destroying hundreds of thousands of homes in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar. Over 300 people are confirmed to have died, with more than 8,000 still missing. Surviving residents are now receiving aid, mourning the lost, beginning to rebuild - and some are leveling criticism at their own governments, asking why stronger storm defenses were not in place. According to the Associated Press, some 2.3 million people were affected by Aila.