DisasterMadras State (Congress era)
Rameswaram cyclone destroys Dhanushkodi
Pamban Island was hit by a super cyclonic storm whose surge drowned the town of Dhanushkodi and killed many people.
Called both the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone and the Dhanushkodi cyclone, this storm ranks among the strongest ever recorded in the region. It first struck northern Ceylon and then, on 23 December 1964, drove a storm surge estimated at about 7.6 metres onto Dhanushkodi on Pamban Island. Water swallowed the town, and a passenger train on the Pamban line was overturned. The death toll across the affected areas was at least 1,800, and Dhanushkodi was abandoned as a town after the disaster.
