\o7 "Bangladesh, Bangladesh,

Where so many people are dying fast

And it sure looks like a mess."\f7

That's how George Harrison saw this land of seemingly perennial disaster when the former Beatle wrote a song about it for an Aug. 1, 1971, famine relief concert in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Last week's cyclone, which is believed to have killed more than 125,000, is, in fact, only the latest in a long line of natural and man-made disasters going back for as long as there are written records.

The poor, overcrowded country is particularly susceptible to killer windstorms--all of the most deadly cyclones (known in other parts of the world as hurricanes or typhoons) in the last 50 years have battered Bangladesh.

But it also suffers more than its share of other plagues including: * Tidal waves--Walls of water up to 30 feet high follow a cyclone. * Floods--Monsoon rains, which dump an average of 80% of the country's heavy annual rainfall during the June-October months, regularly flood one-third of the country and in bad years leave 70% of it under water. * Famine--Crop damage during floods and cyclones often plunges many Bangladeshis into malnutrition soon afterwards. * Disease--Food shortages and unsanitary living conditions contribute to widespread cholera, leprosy, and tuberculosis. Malaria, spread by mosquitoes that thrive in the nation's swampy regions, kills thousands every year. * Man-made tragedy--There are frequent reports of drownings when overloaded ferries, a main means of transportation, sink in the country's waterways. An estimated 3 million people died in the 1970-71 war that resulted in the political separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan.

COMPARISONS

Population density per square mile, in persons California 189 people per square mile.

Bangladesh, 2063 per square mile.

Total area,in square miles

Bangladesh: 55,596 square miles

California: 158,706 square miles

Per capita income, in dollars:

Bangladesh: $113

California: $19,740

Water: A Constant Threat

Deforestation: Woodcutting, particularly in Nepal, has stripped away much Himalayan timber, speeding water runoff and erosion of the mountains.

Rivers: Known as the drainpipe of Central Asia, several river systems originating in the mountainous north flow through Bangladesh to the ocean, creating what is reputedly the largest deltaic region in the world.