Today marks the 35th anniversary of the 1991 cyclone. It was one of the most powerful cyclones ever recorded in history that killed over 140,000 people including more than 40,000 from Banshkhali alone. Though all the coastal areas were affected, the majority of the fatalities occurred in the southeastern coastal belt that includes Banshkhali, Anowara, Chakaria, Pekua, Kutubdia and Moheskhali. In addition to the immense human toll, the cyclone left over 10 million people homeless across the belt. Overall property and infrastructure damage was in billions of dollars.

People living along the coast are often considered to be naturally brave and resilient as they survive facing the harsh behavior of the sea. For them, cyclones and flooding are not rare incidents. Yet for those who endured the 1991 cyclone, resilience does not mean fearlessness. The trauma of that night is still alive, and many who survived say they would not wish to confront such a calamity again. Coastal people in southern Chattogram still continue to bear the haunting memories of that disastrous cyclone. Decades later, the disaster remains a powerful collective memory for the people of the entire coastal belt.