On 17 April 1973, an extremely deadly and devastating tornado moved through areas southwest of Dhaka in Faridpur District, located in Bangladesh. The tornado was the third-deadliest in world history, killing an estimated 681 to 1,000 people; 1,000 more were believed to have been injured.
The tornado touched down west of Dhaka in Manikganj District, moving along the Kaliganga river to the southeast. Along its path through Manikganj District, the tornado moved in an inconsistent pattern, taking on a multiple-vortex structure as it widened. Later studies found that at this point in its life, the tornado was a series of two funnels that merged into one larger vortex. Further southeast, the tornado impacted nine more villages and produced heavy damage to structures in Balurchar. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was the prime minister of Bangladesh at the time of the tornado, stated that "not a single dwelling was traceable" in the Balurchar area. Bodies of victims from the tornado in Balurchar were strewn around the area; a boat with three occupants off the shore from the town was lofted by the tornado and thrown over away.
681 people were confirmed to have been killed by the tornado and a total of 15,000 more people were affected in some way by the event. Estimates for death counts as high as 1,000 people were given for the tornado, making it one of the deadliest in world history.