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Disaster follows mangrove loss

Tens of thousands of people died in October 1999 when a cyclone hit the eastern coast of India, with winds of up to 300 kilometres per hour. It brought a tidal surge and torrential rain, causing rivers to break their banks. The flat land near the coast was flooded and slums as far as 50 kilometres from the coast were destroyed. The tragedy would have been much smaller if the coastline had still been covered in mangrove forests, as they would have dissipated the energy of the waves and greatly reduced the damage and loss of life.