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<p>This paper focuses on how the interaction among cyclonic disturbances, water infrastructure, and population health crises is intricate in the case of colonial Bengal between 1864 and 1942. Based on archival documents such as administrative reports, medical statistics, district gazetteers, and contemporary accounts, this paper illustrates that cyclonic storms led to cascading health crises due to the destruction of water supply infrastructure, the salinisation of fresh water sources, and the spread of waterborne diseases. This analysis indicates that there were systematic trends of colonial administrative inadequacy in its response to these complex environmental and health emergencies, characterised by inadequate investment in rural infrastructure, delayed medical interventions, and reactions favouring urban centres and the dominant classes. This study sheds light on how natural disasters were transformed into human disasters through colonial systems of governance, examining cyclonic events such as the disastrous storms of 1864, 1867, 1869, 1874, 1876, 1897, 1919, and 1942. The paper adds to the literature on environmental history, colonial medicine, and disaster studies. It provides information applicable to modern problems of climate change and disaster preparedness in South Asia, with respect to population health.</p>

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Cyclones, rain, and public health in colonial Bengal, 1864–1942

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月23日

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  • Lakshmi Kanta Das

摘要

This paper focuses on how the interaction among cyclonic disturbances, water infrastructure, and population health crises is intricate in the case of colonial Bengal between 1864 and 1942. Based on archival documents such as administrative reports, medical statistics, district gazetteers, and contemporary accounts, this paper illustrates that cyclonic storms led to cascading health crises due to the destruction of water supply infrastructure, the salinisation of fresh water sources, and the spread of waterborne diseases. This analysis indicates that there were systematic trends of colonial administrative inadequacy in its response to these complex environmental and health emergencies, characterised by inadequate investment in rural infrastructure, delayed medical interventions, and reactions favouring urban centres and the dominant classes. This study sheds light on how natural disasters were transformed into human disasters through colonial systems of governance, examining cyclonic events such as the disastrous storms of 1864, 1867, 1869, 1874, 1876, 1897, 1919, and 1942. The paper adds to the literature on environmental history, colonial medicine, and disaster studies. It provides information applicable to modern problems of climate change and disaster preparedness in South Asia, with respect to population health.