Jump to content

List of natural disasters by death toll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Erianisbest (talk | contribs) at 04:32, 30 March 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The following is a list of the most notable natural disasters by type.

Ten deadliest natural disasters

Rank Event Location Date Death Toll (Estimate)
1. 1931 China floods China 01931-01-01July, November, 1931 1,000,000–4,000,000*[1]
2. 1887 Yellow River flood China 01887-01-01September, October, 1887 900,000–2,000,000[2]
3. 1556 Shaanxi earthquake Shaanxi Province, China 01556-01-01January 23, 1556 830,000[3]
4. 1970 Bhola cyclone Bangladesh 01970-01-01November 13, 1970 500,000[1]
5. 1839 India Cyclone India 01839-01-01November 25, 1839 300,000[citation needed]
6. 526 Antioch earthquake Antioch, Byzantine Empire (now Turkey) May 526 250,000−300,000
7. 1976 Tangshan earthquake Tangshan, Hebei, China 01976-07-28July 28, 1976 242,419[1]
8. 1920 Haiyuan earthquake Haiyuan, Ningxia-Gansu, China 01920-12-16December 16, 1920 234,117[1]
9. 2010 Haiti earthquake Port-au-Prince, Haiti 01976-07-28January 12, 2010 233,000[4]
10. 2004 Indian ocean earthquake Indonesia 02004-12-26December 26, 2004 230,210

* Estimate by Nova's sources are close to 4 million and yet Encarta's sources report as few as 1 million. Expert estimates report wide variance.

An alternative listing is given by Hough in his 2008 book Global Security.[5]

Lists of natural disasters

Blizzards

Main article: Blizzard
Rank Event Location Date Death Toll (Estimate)
1. Iran Blizzard Iran 1972 4,000
2. 2008 Afghanistan blizzard Afghanistan 2008 926
3. Great Blizzard of 1888 United States 1888 400
4. 1993 North American Storm Complex United States 1993 318
5. Schoolhouse Blizzard United States 1888 235
6. Hakko-da Mountains incident Japan 1902 199
7. Armistice Day Blizzard United States 1940 144
8. 2008 Chinese winter storms China 2008 133
9. 1995 Kazakh Blizzard Kazakhstan 1995 112
10. Blizzard of 1978 United States 1978 54

Contractible diseases

See also: List of epidemics

Pandemics killing at least 1,000,000 people:

Rank Event Location Death Toll (Estimate) Date
1. Bubonic Plague: Black Death Asia, Europe, Africa 100,000,000 approx. 01300-01-011300s–1720s
3. Bubonic Plague: Plague of Justinian Asia, Europe, Africa 40,000,000-100,000,000 00540-01-01540–590
4. Bubonic Plague: Third Pandemic Worldwide 12,000,000 ? 01850-01-011850s–1950s
5. Antonine Plague Roman Empire 5,000,000 00165-01-01165–180
6. Asian Flu pandemic Worldwide 4,000,000 01957-01-011956-1958

Other deadly communicable diseases. Death counts are historical totals unless indicated otherwise.

Rank Disease Death Toll (Estimate) Notes
1. Smallpox 300,000,000 approx. 01901-01-011900 to eradication.[6] Declared eradicated May 8, 1980.[7]
2. Measles 200,000,000 ? 01851-01-01last 150 years[8]
3. Malaria 80,000,000-250,000,000 01900-01-0120th century – present
4. Tuberculosis 40,000,000–100,000,000 01900-01-0120th century – present[8]
5. AIDS pandemic 25,250,000 01981-01-011981–present (As of 2010).
6. Seasonal influenza at least 250,000 annually 01981-01-01As of April 2009[9]

Cyclones

Main article: Tropical cyclone
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 500,000 1970 Bhola cyclone Bangladesh 1970
2. 300,000 1839 Indian cyclone India 1839
3. 300,000[10] 1737 Calcutta cyclone India 1737
4. 210,000 Super Typhoon Nina—contributed to Banqiao Dam failure China 1975
5. 200,000[11] Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876 present day Bangladesh 1876
6. ~146,000 Cyclone Nargis Myanmar 2008
7. 138,866 1991 Bangladesh cyclone Bangladesh 1991
8. 100,000 1882 Bombay cyclone Bombay, India 1882
9. 60,000 1922 Swatow Typhoon China 1922
9. 60,000 1864 Calcutta Cyclone India 1864

Earthquakes

Main article: List of earthquakes
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 830,000 1556 Shaanxi earthquake China January 23, 1556
2. 255,000 1976 Tangshan earthquake China July 28, 1976
3. 250,000 526 Antioch earthquake Antioch, Byzantine Empire (now Turkey) May 526
4. 234,117 1920 Haiyuan earthquake China December 16, 1920
5. 233,000 2010 Haiti earthquake Haiti January 12, 2010
6. 230,210 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake Indonesia December 26, 2004
7. 230,000 1138 Aleppo earthquake Syria October 11, 1138
8. 200,000 856 Damghan earthquake Iran December 22, 856
9. 150,000 893 Ardabil earthquake Iran March 23, 893
10. 142,000 1923 Great Kanto earthquake Japan September 1, 1923
11. 137,000 1730 Hokkaido earthquake Japan 1730
12. 110,000 1948 Ashgabat earthquake Turkmen SSR, Soviet Union (now Turkmenistan) October 5, 1948
13. 100,000 1290 Chihli earthquake China 1290
13. 100,000 1755 Lisbon earthquake Portugal November 1, 1755
13. 100,000 1908 Messina earthquake Italy December 28, 1908
13. 100,000 1970 Ancash earthquake Peru May 31, 1970
17. 80,000 1667 Shamakhi earthquake Azerbaijan 1667
18. 79,000 2005 Kashmir earthquake Pakistan October 8, 2005
19. 77,000 1727 Tabriz earthquake Iran 1727
20. 70,000 1932 Changma earthquake Gansu, China 1932
21. 68712 (18392 missing) 2008 Sichuan earthquake China May 12, 2008
22. 60,000 1268 Cilicia earthquake Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (now Turkey) 1268
22. 60,000 1693 Sicily earthquake Italy January 11, 1693
22. 60,000 1935 Balochistan earthquake Pakistan May 31, 1935
25. 50,000 1783 Calabrian earthquakes Italy 1783
25. 50,000 1990 Manjil-Rudbar earthquake Iran June 21, 1990
27. 40,000 1498 Nankaido earthquake Japan September 20, 1498
27. 40,000 1797 Quito earthquake Ecuador 1797
27. 40,000 1927 Gulang earthquake Gansu, China 1927
30. 32,962 1939 Erzincan earthquake Turkey December 26, 1939
31. 30,000 1939 Chillán earthquake Chile January 24, 1939
32. 28,000 1949 Khait earthquake Tajikistan July 10, 1949
33. 26,271 2003 Bam earthquake Iran December 26, 2003
34. 25,000 1988 Spitak earthquake Armenia December 7, 1988
35. 23,700 1293 Kamakura earthquake Japan 1293
36. 23,000 1976 Guatemala earthquake Guatemala February 4, 1976
37. 22,066 1896 Meiji-Sanriku earthquake Japan June 15, 1896
38. 20,000 1812 Caracas earthquake Venezuela March 26, 1812
38. 20,000 1905 Kangra earthquake British India April 4, 1905
40. 19,727 2001 Gujarat earthquake India January 26, 2001
41. 17,217 1999 İzmit earthquake Turkey August 17, 1999
42. 15,621 1970 Tonghai earthquake China January 4, 1970
43. 15,000 1960 Agadir earthquake Morocco February 26, 1960
43. 15,000 1978 Tabas earthquake Iran September 16, 1978
45. 12,225 1962 Bou'in-Zahra earthquake Iran September 1, 1962
46. 12,000 1968 Dasht-e Bayaz and Ferdows earthquake Iran 1968
47. 10,500 1934 Bihar earthquake British India January 15, 1934
48. 10,153 1985 Mexico City earthquake Mexico September 19, 1985
49. 10,000 1509 Istanbul earthquake Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) September 10, 1509
49. 10,000 1703 Apennine earthquakes Italy 1703
49. 10,000 1703 Genroku earthquake Japan December 31, 1703
49. 10,000 1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquake Japan December 24, 1854
49. 10,000[12] 1944 San Juan earthquake Argentina January 15, 1944
54. 9,000 1933 Diexi earthquake China August 25, 1933
55. 8,064 1966 Xingtai earthquake China March 8, 1966
56. 7,928 1993 Latur earthquake India September 30, 1993
57. 7,273 1891 Mino-Owari earthquake Japan October 28, 1891
58. 6,433 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake Japan January 17, 1995
59. 6,000[12] 1861 Mendoza earthquake Argentina March 20, 1861
59. 6,000 1960 Valdivia earthquake Chile May 22, 1960
61. 5,300 1974 Hunza earthquake Pakistan December 28, 1974
62. 5,000 1707 Hōei earthquake Japan October 28, 1707
62. 5,000 1972 Nicaragua earthquake Nicaragua December 23, 1972
64. 4,000 1945 Balochistan earthquake British India November 28, 1945
65. 3,800 1929 Koppeh Dagh earthquake Iran January 5, 1929
66. 3,769 1948 Fukui earthquake Japan June 28, 1948
67. 3,000 1906 San Francisco earthquake United States April 18, 1906
67. 3,000 1933 Sanriku earthquake Japan Error in Template:Date table sorting: 'March 2, 1933' is not a valid year

Famines

Main article: Famine
Please Note: Some of these famines may be partially or completely caused by humans.
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 15,000,000–43,000,000 Great Chinese Famine China 1958–1961
Chinese Famine of 1907 China 1907
2. 19,000,000 Indian Famine British India 1896–1902
3. 15,000,000 Bengal famine of 1770, incl. Bihar & Orissa India 1769–1771
4. 13,000,000 Northern Chinese Famine China 1876–1879
5. 10,000,000 Southern and Central Indian Famine India 1876–1879
6. 7,500,000 Great European Famine Europe (all) 1315–1317
7. 5,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1936 China 1936
7. 5,000,000 Soviet famine of 1932–1933 (Holodomor) Soviet Union 1932–1934
7. 5,000,000 Russian famine of 1921 Russia, Ukraine 1921–1922
10. 3,000,000 Chinese Drought 1941 China 1941
10. 3,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1928–1930 China 1928–1930
12. 2,000,000 Russian famine of 1601–1603 Russia (Muscovy) 1601–1603
12. 2,000,000 Vietnamese War Famine Vietnam 1943–1945
14. 1,500,000–4,000,000 Bengal Famine of 1943 India 1943
15. 1,000,000-1,500,000 Great Irish Famine Ireland 1846–1849
16. 1,200,000 North Korean famine North Korea 1996–1998
17. 1,000,000 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia Ethiopia 1984
17. 1,000,000 Horn of Africa famine Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia 1888
18. 26,000-1,000,000 Bangladesh famine of 1974—Official records claim 26,000. However, various sources claim about 1,000,000. Bangladesh 1974
19. 150,000 Finnish famine of 1866–1868 Finland 1866–1868
20. 18,000 Dutch famine of 1944 The Netherlands 1944

Floods and landslides

Main articles: Flood and Landslide
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 2,500,000–3,700,000[13] 1931 China floods China 1931
2. 900,000–2,000,000 1887 Yellow River (Huang He) flood China 1887
3. 500,000–700,000 1938 Yellow River (Huang He) flood China 1938
4. 231,000 Banqiao Dam failure, result of Typhoon Nina. Approximately 86,000 people died from flooding and another 145,000 died during subsequent disease. China 1975
5. 145,000 1935 Yangtze river flood China 1935
6. more than 100,000 St. Felix's Flood, storm surge Netherlands 1530
7. 100,000 Hanoi and Red River Delta flood North Vietnam 1971
7. 100,000 1911 Yangtze river flood China 1911
9. 50,000–80,000 St. Lucia's flood, storm surge Netherlands 1287
10. 60,000 North Sea flood, storm surge Netherlands 1212
11. 1,126 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide Netherlands Feb 17, 2006

Limnic eruptions

Main article: Limnic eruption
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 1,746 Lake Nyos Cameroon 1986
2. 37 Lake Monoun Cameroon 1984

Storms (non-cyclone)

Main article: Storm
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 15,100 Torrential rains and mudslides Venezuela 1999
2. 500 Lofoten, Heavy storm Norway 1849
3. ? 250 Great Lakes Storm of 1913 United States and Canada (Great Lakes region) 1913
4. 242 1996 Amarnath Yatra tragedy India 1996
5. 210 Trøndelag, storm ("Follastormen") Norway 1625
6. 189 Eyemouth, Scotland, storm ("Black Friday") United Kingdom 1881
7. 140 Trøndelag, storm ("Titran disaster") Norway 1899
8. 96 Lofoten, storm Norway 1868
9. 46 Columbus Day Storm United States 1962
10. 30 Haugesund, storm ("Røvær disaster") Norway 1899

Tornadoes

Main article: Tornado
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 1,300 The Saturia-Manikganj Sadar Tornado Manikganj, Bangladesh April 26, 1989
2. 923 1969 East Pakistan Tornado East Pakistan, Pakistan (now Bangladesh) 1969
3. 695 The Tri-State Tornado United States (Missouri–Illinois–Indiana) March 18, 1925
4. 681 1973 Dhaka Tornado Bangladesh 1973
5. 600 The Malta Tornado Malta 1551
6. 500 The Sicily Tornado Sicily, Two Sicilies (now Italy) 1851
6. 500 The Narail-Magura Tornadoes Jessore, East Pakistan, Pakistan (now Bangladesh) 1964
6. 500 The Comoro Tornado Comoro 1951
9. 440 The Tangail Tornado Bangladesh 1996
10. 400 Ivanovo, Yaroslavl Tornado Soviet Union (now Russia) 1984

Tsunami

See also: Historic tsunami
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 295,600 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Indonesia 2004
2. 100,000 1755 Lisbon earthquake/tsunami/fire Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (Cornwall) 1755
3. 100,000 1908 Messina earthquake/tsunami Messina, Italy 1908
4. 36,000 Caused by 1883 eruption of Krakatoa Indonesia 1883
5. 30,000 Tōkaidō/Nankaido, Japan 1707
6. 27,000 Japan 1826
7. 25,674 1868 Arica earthquake/tsunami Arica, Chile 1868
8. 22,070 1896 Meiji-Sanriku earthquake Sanriku, Japan 1896
9. 15,030 1792 Mount Unzen eruption in southwest Kyūshū Kyūshū, Japan 1792

Volcanic eruptions

Main article: Volcano
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 92,000 Mount Tambora (see also Year Without a Summer) Indonesia 01815-01-011815
2. 36,000 Krakatoa Indonesia 01883-08-26August 26–27, 1883
3. 29,000 Mount Pelée Martinique 01902-05-07May 7 or May 8, 1902
4. 25,000 Mount Vesuvius Pompeii and Herculaneum, Italy 01631-01-01August 24, 79 AD
5. 23,000 Nevado del Ruiz Colombia 01985-11-13November 13, 1985
6. 15,000 Mount Unzen Japan 01792-01-011792
7. 10,000 Mount Kelut Indonesia 01586-01-011586
8. 9,350 Laki. Killed about 25% of the population (33% were killed about 70 years before by smallpox) Iceland 01783-06-08 June 8, 1783
9. 6,000 Santa Maria Guatemala 01902-01-011902
10. 5,115 Mount Kelut Indonesia 01919-05-19 May 19, 1919

A supervolcanic eruption at Lake Toba around 74,000 years ago could have wiped out as much as 99% of the global human population, reducing the population from a possible 60 million to less than 10 thousand; see Toba catastrophe theory. However, this theory is not widely accepted because the evidence is disputed, and there have been, for instance, no remains found. The eruption is not listed here as it was pre-historic and outside the scope of this article. Also, the Thera eruption in the Aegean Sea between 1550 and 1650 BC may have caused a large number of deaths throughout the region, from Crete to Egypt. See also La Garita Caldera, Yellowstone Caldera, and Supervolcanoes.

Wildfires and bushfires

Main articles: Wildfire and Bushfire
Rank Death Toll Event Location Date
1. 1,200–2,500 Peshtigo Fire, Wisconsin United States 1871
2. 1,200 Kursha-2, Ryazan Oblast, RSFSR Soviet Union 1936
3. 453 Cloquet Fire, Minnesota United States 1918
4. 418 Great Hinckley Fire, Minnesota United States 1894
5. 282 Thumb Fire, Michigan United States 1881
6. 240 Sumatra, Kalimantan Indonesia 1997
7. 273 Matheson Fire, Ontario Canada 1916
8. 230 Landes region France 1949
9. 213 Greater Hinggan, Heilongjiang China 1987
10. 173 Black Saturday bushfires Australia 2009
11. 160 Miramichi Fire, New Brunswick Canada 1825

See also

Other lists organized by death toll

References

  1. ^ a b c d [http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/05/08/f-natural-disasters-history.html The world's worst natural disasters Calamities of the 20th and 21st centuries] CBC News Retrieved 2010-2-10
  2. ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/flood/deluge.html
  3. ^ http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1953425_1953424,00.html
  4. ^ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/#summary
  5. ^ Understanding Global Security, Peter Hough, 2008, chapter 8, page 192, table 8.1 'The ten worst natural disasters in history'
  6. ^ "UC Davis Magazine, Summer 2006: Epidemics on the Horizon". Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  7. ^ Smallpox and bioterrorism, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, vol. 81 no. 10 Genebra October 2003 ISSN 0042-9686
  8. ^ a b Torrey EF and Yolken RH. 2005. Their bugs are worse than their bite. Washington Post, April 3, p. B01.
  9. ^ Influenza (Seasonal), World Heath Organization, April 2009, retrieved 2010-02-13
  10. ^ 10 'Worst' Natural Disasters
  11. ^ Hurricanes: case studies
  12. ^ a b http://www.inpres.gov.ar/seismology/seismology/historic/hist.panel.htm
  13. ^ Worst Natural Disasters In History
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll&oldid=352890938"