coast. In a survey by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the main reason more people did not evacuate was underestimating the severity of the cyclone. The JTWC maintained contact with the American embassy in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, assuring that it would not have to be evacuated due to a projected track farther southeast. Impact The cyclone made landfall in southeastern Bangladesh around the time of high tide, which was already above normal; in addition, the cyclone produced a storm surge that inundated the coastline. The storm also brought winds of around . Winds exceeding lashed a populated region of the coast for about 12 hours, as well as 12 offshore islands. An estimated 138,000 people were killed by the cyclone. More than 20,000 people died on Kutubdia Upazila, an island offshore Chittagong where 80–90% of homes were destroyed, and all livestock were killed. Some smaller offshore islands lost their entire populations. There were around 25,000 dead in Chittagong, 40,000 dead in Banshkali. About 13.4 million people were affected. Around 1 million homes were destroyed, leaving 10 million people homeless. The storm surge caused whole villages to be swept away. The storm caused an estimated $1.5 billion (1991 US dollars) in damage. The high velocity wind and the storm surge devastated the coastline. Although a concrete levee was in place near the mouth of the Karnaphuli River in Patenga, it was washed away by the storm surge. A large number of boats and smaller ships ran aground. The Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force, both of which had bases in Chittagong, were also heavily hit. The Isha Khan Naval Base at Patenga was flooded, with heavy damages to the ships. Most of the fighter planes belonging to the air force were damaged. The extensive damage caused the price of building materials to greatly increase. For an additional three to four weeks after the storm had dissipated, mass land erosion resulted in more and more farmers losing their land, and therefore, the number of unemployed rose. In several areas up to 90 percent of crops had been washed away. The shrimp farms and salt industry were left devastated. Elsewhere The JTWC tracked the cyclone as moving northeastward from Bangladesh into northern Myanmar, dissipating in western China over Yunnan province. In Northeast India, continuous rainfall and gusty winds affected Tripura and Mizoram states, causing "some loss of life" according to