Nargis is the 8th deadliest cyclone of all time. Nargis was the first tropical cyclone to strike the country since Cyclone Mala made landfall in 2006.

The first named storm of the 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Nargis developed on April 27 in the central area of Bay of Bengal. Initially it tracked slowly north westward and, encountering favourable conditions, it quickly strengthened. Dry air weakened the cyclone on April 29, though after beginning a steady eastward motion Nargis rapidly intensified to attain peak winds of at least 165 km/h (105 mph) on May 2; the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre assessed peak winds of 215 km/h (135 mph).

The cyclone moved ashore in the Ayeyarwaddy Division of Burma near peak intensity and, after passing near the major city of Yangon (Rangoon), the storm gradually weakened until dissipating near the border of Burma and Thailand. The cyclone name "Nargis" is a Persian word meaning daffodil.

The Burmese government has declared five regions - Yangon, Ayeyarwaddy, Bago Divisions and Mon and Kayin States as disaster areas. Thousands of buildings were destroyed; in the town of Labutta, located in the Ayeyarwaddy Division, state television reported that 75 percent of buildings had collapsed and 20 percent had their roofs ripped off.

One report indicated that 95 percent of buildings in the Irrawaddy Delta area were destroyed. It is believed that the cyclone is the deadliest tropical cyclone in the world since the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, which killed over 138,000 people. At least 10,000 people have been reported to have perished in the delta town of Bogalay.

A diplomat in the city of Rangoon spoke to the Reuters news agency, giving them a description of the scene. He said that the area around him looked like a 'war zone' as a result of the cyclone. Burst sewage mains caused the landscape to flood with waste, ruining the rice crop. An official from the United Nations also commented on the situation, at the time of the event. "It's a bad situation. Almost all the houses are smashed. People are in a terrible situation," he said.

Another UN representative also spoke on the incident. He reported that "The Irrawaddy delta was hit extremely hard not only because of the wind and rain but because of the storm surge." A UK newspaper, reported that food prices in Burma would be affected by this disaster