2 May 2008, the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanma occured. A rare eastward moving, low altitude strong tropical cyclone, which sent a 40 kilometer storm serge up to the Irrawaddy delta. It caused 138, 000 (may be under reported)deaths and 55, 000 went missing. It devastated the Ayeyarwady Delta region along with its 37 townships for two days. An equivalent of a category 3 or 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, it led to numerous storm surges and flooding.