Just five months after the fall of Hussain Muhammad Ershad’s government and two months into the new Khaleda Zia administration, Bangladesh was struck by Cyclone Gorky, the most intense Category 5 cyclone in the country’s history. More powerful than the devastating 1970 Bhola cyclone, Gorky caused widespread destruction.

The UK’s Telegraph reported that the cyclone claimed approximately fifty thousand lives and inflicted economic losses equivalent to nearly £245 million. Remote islands were particularly hard hit, with survivors left with nothing but the means to cook.

The disaster further strained Bangladesh’s economy, which was weakened by Ershad’s foreign aid-dependent budget. Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia appealed to the international community for assistance.

In response, the United States pledged $2 million in medical supplies, and the UK Foreign Office instructed British aid agencies to scale up their operations. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Mostafizur Rahman, travelled with diplomats to seek further international aid to the affected areas.

Meanwhile, a US military task force returning from the Gulf War was redirected to Bangladesh at the request of President George H.W. Bush. This marked the beginning of one of the largest disaster relief operations in history, Operation Sea Angel. Over 2,500 US military personnel and 15 ships joined forces with the Bangladesh Army to deliver aid.

The US military’s experience in Bangladesh has since become a case study in disaster management, demonstrating how to coordinate relief efforts with multiple stakeholders. Charles R. Smith documented this operation in his book Angels from the Sea: Relief Operations in Bangladesh, 1991: U.S. Marines in Humanitarian Operations.