Rain begins to fall in April, the hottest month. Farmers then begin to plow their fields for the main crop planting. These heavy rains prevail for two to three months and continue more moderately into November. Destructive floods every two or three years are common in Bangladesh. Between 1960 and 1970, nine cyclones accompanied with floods hit Bangladesh during the October through December period.
Floods devastate summer crops, destroy homes, and drown people and livestock.
In 1988 monsoon rains left 2,000 people dead and 30 million homeless. Later that year a cyclone killed 1,700 people. As many as 131,000 people were killed by a May 1991 cyclone that caused 2.7 billion dollars in damages. People With more than 107 million people, Bangladesh ranks as the world's 10th most populous country. According to projections, the population will reach 140 million by the year 2000.