List of natural disasters by death toll

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A death toll is the number of dead as a result of war, violence, accident, natural disaster, extreme weather, or disease.

Below is a list of death tolls for various infamous natural disasters. Most numbers are estimates and are often in dispute. The incidents are ranked by the highest estimate given.

Some events overlap categories.

Ten deadliest natural disasters

Rank	Event	Location	Date	Death Toll (Estimate)
1.	1931 Yellow River flood	Yellow River, China	Summer 1931	850,000-4,000,000
2.	1887 Yellow River flood	Yellow River, China	September-October 1887	900,000-2,000,000

3.	1970 Bhola cyclone	Ganges Delta, East Pakistan	November 13, 1970	500,000-1,000,000

4.	Earthquake	Eastern Mediterranean	1201	1,000,000

5.	1938 Yellow River flood	Yellow River, China	June 9th, 1938	500,000 - 900,000

6.	Shaanxi Earthquake	Shaanxi Province, China	January 23, 1556	830,000

7.	2004 Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami	Indian Ocean	December 26 2004	225,000-275,000

8.	Tropical Cyclone	Haiphong, Vietnam	1881	300,000

9.	Flood	Kaifeng, Henan Province, China	1642	300,000

10.	Earthquake	Tangshan, China	July 28, 1976	242,000*

* Official Government figure. Estimated death toll as high as 655,000.

Earthquakes

830,000 - Shaanxi earthquake (China, 1556)
287,000 - Indian Ocean earthquake & tsunamis (outside Indonesia, 2004)
255,000 - Tangshan earthquake (China, 1976)
230,000 - Aleppo earthquake (Syria, 1138)
200,000 - Gansu earthquake (China, 1920)
200,000 - Xining earthquake (China, 1927)
200,000 - Damghan earthquake (Iran, 856)
150,000 - Ardabil earthquake (Iran, 893)
140,000 - Great Kantō earthquake (Japan, 1923)
110,000 - Ashgabat earthquake (Turkmenistan, 1948)
100,000 - Messina earthquake (Italy, 1908)
100,000 - 1755 Lisbon earthquake (Portugal, 1755)
100,000 - Chihli earthquake, (China, 1290)
87,000+ - (still rising) 2005 Kashmir earthquake, (Pakistan, India, 2005)
80,000 - Shemakha earthquake (Caucasus, 1667)
77,000 - Tabriz earthquake (Iran, 1727)
70,000 - Gansu earthquake (China, 1932)
66,000 - Ancash earthquake (Peru, 1970)
60,000 - Sicily earthquake (1693)
60,000 - Quetta earthquake (British India, 1935)
50,000 - Calabria earthquake (Italy, 1783)
50,000 - Iran earthquake (1990)
31,000–41,000 - Bam earthquake (Iran, 2003)
32,700 - Erzincan earthquake (Turkey, 1939)
25,000 - Spitak Earthquake (Armenia, 1988)
23,000 - Guatemala earthquake (1976)
20,000 - Gujarat earthquake (India, 2001)
20,000 - Valparaíso earthquake (Chile, 1960)
17,118 - Izmit earthquake (Turkey, 1999)
15,621 - Tonghai earthquake (China, 1970)
11,000 - Naples earthquake, (Italy, 1857)
10,700 - Bihar earthquake (India, 1934)
10,000 - Agadir earthquake (Morocco, 1960)
9,748 - Latur, India earthquake (India, 1993)
9,500 - Michoacán earthquake (Mexico, 1985)
6,433 - Great Hanshin earthquake, (Kobe, Japan, 1995)
6,234 - May 2006 Java earthquake (Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2006)
3,000 - 1906 San Francisco earthquake (California, 1906)
2,400 - Chi-Chi earthquake (Taiwan, 1999)
2,914 - Irpinia (Italy, 1980)
1,570 - Romania earthquake (Romania, 1977)
1,100 - Skopje earthquake (Yugoslavia, 1963)
1,000 - Friuli earthquake (Italy, 1977)
1,084 - Luzon earthquake (Philippines, 1990)
571 - Morocco earthquake (Al Hoceima Province, 2004)
564 - Zarand (Iran, 2005)
258 - Napier earthquake (New Zealand, 1931)
131 - Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska, 1964)
115 - Long Beach earthquake of 1933 (California, 1933)
66 - Loma Prieta earthquake (California, 1989)
65+ - Sylmar earthquake (California, 1971)
57 - Northridge earthquake (California, 1994)
27 - 1872 Lone Pine earthquake (California, 1872)
13 - Newcastle earthquake (Australia, 1989)

Notes

A severe earthquake occurred on 5 July 1201 in the area of the eastern Mediterranean - (Upper Egypt, Syria). Every major city in the Near East was disrupted, and contemporary estimates put the total number killed at 1,100,000.

References

USGS

Volcanic Eruptions

92,000 - Mount Tambora, (Indonesia, 1815) (see also Year Without a Summer)
36,000 - Krakatoa, (Indonesia, 1883)
29,000 - Mount Pelée, (Martinique, 1902)
23,000 - Nevado del Ruiz, (Colombia, 1985)
18,000 - Mount Vesuvius, (Italy, 1631)
15,000 - Mount Unzen, (Japan, 1792)
10,000 - Kelut, (Indonesia, 1586)
9,350 - Laki, (Iceland, 1783)
6,000 - Santa Maria, (Guatemala, 1902)
5,115 - Kelut, (Indonesia, 1912)
4,000 - Galunggung, (Indonesia, 1822)
3,600 - Mount Vesuvius, (Roman Empire, 79)
3,500 - El Chichón, (Mexico, 1982)
1,680 - Soufrière, (St. Vincent, West Indies, 1902)
1,000 - Cotopaxi, (Ecuador, 1887)
700 - Mount Pinatubo (Philippines, 1991)
245 - Nyiragongo, (Congo, 2002)
152 - Mt Ruapehu, (Tangiwai, New Zealand 1953)
57 - Mount St. Helens (Washington, 1980)

Notes

A supervolcano that erupted at Lake Toba around 74,000 years ago is thought to have reduced the global human population to less than 10 thousand, which isn't much, as the global population was at most around a million at the time; see Toba catastrophe theory. This eruption is not listed because it occurred before recorded history. Also, the Santorini eruption in the Aegean Sea between 1550 and 1650 B.C. may have caused a large number of deaths throughout the region, from Crete to Egypt.

References

Tsunamis

228,000–310,000 - Indian Ocean earthquake with tsunami, (Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, and other countries) 2004
100,000 - 1755 Lisbon earthquake, tsunami, earthquake and fire, 1755, Portugal and Morocco
70,000 - Messina, Italy, earthquake and tsunami, 1908
40,000 - South China Sea, 1782, including deaths in Taiwan
36,000 - Krakatoa volcano explosion, 1883
30,000 - Tokaido-Nankaido, Japan, 1707
27,000 - Japan, 1826
25,674 - Chile, 1868
22,070 - Sanriku, Japan, 1896
15,030 - caused by Mount Unzen, Southwest Kyushu, Japan, 1792
13,486 - Ryukyu Trench, 1771
5,233 - Tokaido-Kashima, Japan, 1703
5,000 - Nankaido, Japan, 1605
5,000 - Moro Gulf, Philippines, 1976
4,000 - Borneo, Indonesia, 1952
3,000 - Papua New Guinea, 1998
3,008 - Sanriku, Japan, 1933
2,000 - Great Chilean Earthquake, deaths in Chile, U.S. (Hawaii), Philippines and Japan, 1960
2,000 - Bristol Channel floods, 1607, possible tsunami, United Kingdom
540 - July 2006 Java earthquake
165 - Aleutian Island earthquake, deaths in Hawaii and Alaska, U.S., 1946
122 - Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska and Hawaii, U.S., 1964
27 or 51 - Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, 1929
23 - Nice, France, 1979

Limnic Eruptions

1,800 - Lake Nyos, Cameroon, 1986
37 - Lake Monoun, Cameroon, 1984

Extreme Weather

35,000 - European Heat Wave of 2003 (Europe, 2003)
15,000 - torrential rains and mudslides in Venezuela (1999)
12,000 - Great Smog of 1952, (United Kingdom, 1952)
1,250 - 10,000 - 1980 United States heat wave, (United States, 1980)
4,000 - heat waves in Texas, Middle East and India (1998)
739 - Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 (Chicago, 1995)
669 - heavy storms ("Winnie") (and 695 missing), (Philippines, 2004)
271 - heat waves in Midwest and Northeast (1999)
250+ - Great Lakes Storm of 1913 (Great Lakes basin region, 1913)
246 - hail, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh India (1888)
81 - lightning struck Boeing 707 airliner, near Elkton, Maryland (1963)

Tornadoes

1,300 - The Saturia-Manikganj Sadar Tornado, Manikganj, Bangladesh (1989)
695 - The Tri-State Tornado, MO-IL-IN, USA (1925)
500 - The Narail-Magura Tornadoes, Jessore, Bangladesh (1964)
317 - The Great Natchez Tornado, LA-MS, USA (1840)
255 - The St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado, MO-IL, USA (1896)
233 - The Tupelo Tornado, MS, USA (1936)
203 - The Gainesville Tornado, GA, USA (1936)
181 - The Glazier-Higgins-Woodward Tornadoes, TX-OK-KS, USA (1947)
160 - The Chakislampur-Goborghata Tornado, West Bengal-Orissa, India (1998)
150 - The Purunabandha and Keonjhargarh Tornadoes, Orissa, India (1978)
143 - The Amite-Pine-Purvis Tornadoes, LA-MS, USA (1908)
139 - The Assam Tornado, Assam, India (1963)
118 - The Dhaka Tornado, Dhaka, Bangladesh (1888)
117 - The New Richmond Tornado, WI, USA (1899)
115 - The Flint Tornado, MI, USA (1953)
114 - The Waco Tornado, TX, USA (1953)
114 - The Goliad Tornado, TX, USA (1902)
94 - The Worcester Tornado, MA, USA (1953)
54 - The San Justo Tornado, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina (1973)

Cyclones, Hurricanes and Typhoons

500,000 - Bhola cyclone (Bangladesh, 1970)
300,000 - India cyclone, 1839
300,000 - cyclone Haiphong, Vietnam, 1881
229,000 - Super Typhoon Nina, China, 1975 - contributed to Banqiao Dam failure
138,000 - 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, (Chittagong Bangladesh, 1991)
60,000 - typhoon, (China, 1922)
60,000 - 1864 Calcutta cyclone, (India, 1864)
50,000 - typhoon, (China, 1912)
40,000 - cyclone, (India, 1942)
30,000 - cyclone (Bangladesh, June 1, 1965)
22,000 - Great Hurricane of 1780, (Barbados, Martinique, St. Eustatius 1780)
22,000 - cyclone (Pakistan, 1963)
20,000 - cyclone (India, 1977)
18,277 - Hurricane Mitch (Central America 1998)
17,000 - cyclone (Bangladesh, May 11, 1965)
10,000 - cyclone (Karachi, Pakistan, 1965)
10,000 - cyclone in Orissa, India (1999)
10,000 - typhoon (Hong Kong, 1906)
9,574 - cyclone (India, 1999)
8,000 - Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (Texas, United States September 8, 1900)
8,000 - hurricane (Dominican Republic, 1930)
8,000 - Hurricane Fifi (Honduras, 1974)
7,200 - Hurricane Flora (Haiti, Cuba, 1963)
6,000 - Typhoon Thelma (Philippines, 1991)
6,000 - cyclone, (Pakistan, 1960)
5,000 - Typhoon Vera (Japan, 1958)
4,170 - Newfoundland Hurricane, (U.S., Newfoundland, 1775)
4,075+ - Lake Okeechobee Hurricane, (U.S., 1928)
4,000 - hurricane, (Canada, 1775)
3,433 - hurricane, (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, 1899)
3,107 - hurricane, (Cuba, 1932)
3,037 - Hurricane Jeanne, (Haiti, 2004)
3,000 - hurricane, (Atlantic Ocean, 1782)
3,000 - hurricane, (Cuba, 1791)
3,000 - 1737 Calcutta cyclone (India)
2,500 - Andhra Pradesh cyclone, 1996
2,334 - Typhoon Iris (China, 1959)
2,150 - hurricane, (Caribbean, 1935)
2,060 - Hurricane David, (Dominican Republic, U.S., 1979)
2,000-3,000 - hurricane, (Central America, 1934)
2,000 - hurricane, (Gulf of Mexico, 1780)
2,000 - hurricane, (Florida, 1781)
2,000 - hurricane, (Cuba, Florida, 1870)
2,000 - Chenier Caminada Hurricane, (Louisiana, 1893)
1,723 - Hurricane Katrina, (United States, 2005) not including 2,500 missing[1]
1,620 - Hurricane Stan, (Mexico, Central America, 2005)
1,600 - Typhoon Mary, (China, 1960)
1,500-2,500 - hurricane, (Windward Islands, 1831)
1,500-2,500 - hurricane, (Central America, 1931)
1,500 - hurricane, (Greater Antilles, Mexico, 1909)
1,300 - Typhoon Ike, (Philippines, 1984)
1,200 - Hurricane Hazel (Grenada, Bahamas, Haiti, U.S., Canada, 1954
1,145 - Hurricane Gordon (Haiti, U.S., 1994)
1,115 - hurricane, (Jamaica, Cuba, 1780)
1,000-2,000 - Sea Islands Hurricane, (Georgia, South Carolina, 1893)
1,000 - Hurricane Inez, (Greater Antilles, Mexico, 1966)
1,000 - cyclone (India, 1998)
921 - hurricane, (Greater Antilles, Mexico, 1888)
709 - hurricane, (Cuba, 1926)
700 - hurricane, (Georgia, 1881)
700 - hurricane, (Greater Antilles, 1891)
600-700 - hurricane, (U.S., 1788)
682 - New England Hurricane of 1938, (U.S., 1938)
602 - Hurricane Georges, (Greater Antilles, 1998)
600 - hurricane (Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Texas, 1919)
600 - Hurricane Fox, (Cuba, 1952)
540-680 - Hurricane Janet, (Honduras, Mexico, 1955)
424 - hurricane, (North Carolina, 1857)
408 - Labor Day Hurricane (Florida, 1935)
400 - Last Island Hurricane, (Louisiana, 1856)
400 - Cyclone Mahina (Australia, 1899)
400 - Hurricane Hattie, (Belize, 1961)
400 - hurricane, (Texas, 1915)
399-550 - Hurricane Audrey, (Louisiana, 1957)
390 - hurricane, (U.S., 1944)
387 - hurricane, (U.S., 1866)
383 - hurricane, (Windward Islands, 1898)
364 - Hurricane Donna, (every U.S. state on east coast, 1960)
350 - hurricane, (Louisiana, 1909)
318 - Hurricane Gilbert, (Jamaica and Mexico, 1988)
265-350 - Great Miami Hurricane, (Florida, Louisiana, 1926)
256 - Hurricane Camille, (U.S., 1969)
228 - Hurricane Allen (Caribbean, U.S. 1980)
217 - Hurricane Cleo, (Caribbean and Florida, 1964)
216 - Hurricane Joan, (Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador , 1988)
200 - Hurricane Hilda (Mexico, 1955)
200 - Hurricane Diane (North Carolina, 1955)
122 - Hurricane Agnes (Eastern United States, 1972)
120 - Hurricane Ivan, (Caribbean, Alabama, Florida,2004)
113 - Hurricane Rita, (Florida, Mississippi, Texas, 2005
96 - Hurricane Diana, (Mexico, 1990)
86 - Hurricane Hugo (Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, 1989)
80 - Hurricane Eloise, (Hispaniola and Eastern United States, 1975)
76 - Hurricane Betsy, (Louisiana , 1965)
65 - Cyclone Tracy (Australia, 1974)
62 - Hurricane Andrew (Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana, 1992)
60 - Hurricane Carol (New England, 1954)
59 - Hurricane Beulah (Texas, 1967)
59 - Hurricane Opal, (Guatemala, Mexico, Florida, 1995)
57 - Hurricane Floyd, (Bahamas, North Carolina, 1999)
51 - Hurricane Cesar, (Nicaragua, Central America, Colombia ,Venezuela, 1996
45 - 1939 Long Beach Tropical Storm (California, 1939
42 - Hurricane Hortense (Leeward Islands, 1996)
41 - Tropical Storm Allison (Texas. 2001)
40 - Hurricane Isabel (North Carolina, 2003)
38 - Hurricane Hilda, (Louisiana, 1964)
35 - Hurricane Charley (Jamaica, Cuba, Florida, 2004)
34 - Hurricane Fran (North Carolina, 1996)

References

Floods and Landslides

1,000,000–3,700,000 - 1931 Huang He flood (China, 1931)
900,000–2,000,000 - 1887 Huang He flood (China, 1887)
500,000-900,000 - 1938 Huang He flood (China, 1938)
400000 Banqiao Dam failure, China, 1975. Approximately 86,000 people died from flooding and another 145,000 died during subsequent epidemics.
145,000 - 1935 Yangtze river flood
100,000 - flood (North Vietnam, 1971)
100,000 - 1911 Yangtze river flood
30,000 - 1954 Yangtze river flood
25,000–? - Grote Mandrenke, storm tide, (Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, 1362)
10,000 - Great Iran Flood, (Iran, 1954)
2,200 - Johnstown Flood (Pennsylvania, 1889)
2,142 - North Sea flood of 1953 storm surge, (Netherlands, United Kingdom, 1953)
2,000–5,000 - Manchhu River dam burst, (Morvi, Gujarat, India, 1979) some reports list as many as 12,000 dead.
1,909 - Vajont Dam landslide and flood, (Italy, 1963)
1,800 - 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide, Philippines, (2006)
1,605–3,363 - spring flooding in Haiti and Dominican Republic (2004)
1,000 - Mumbai (Bombay) and the surrounding state Maharashtra, India, 26th July 2005
400 - St. Francis Dam failure, (California, 1928)
315 - North Sea flood of 1962 storm tide, (Germany, 1962)
270 - Great Sheffield flood dam disaster, (England, 1864)
94 - Mameyes Disaster lanslide (Ponce, Puerto Rico, 1985)
81 - Holmfirth Flood - Bilberry Reservoir dam failure, West Yorkshire, England, 1852
78 - Austin Dam failure, (Pennsylvania, 1911)
70 - New Orleans dike failure (Louisiana, 2005)
47 - McDonald Dam failure, (Austin, Texas, 1900)
16 - Brisbane flood (Australia, 1974)

Blizzards

4,000 - Iran, 1972
400 - Great Blizzard of '88, (Northeastern United States, 1888)
318 - 1993 North American Storm Complex, (Northeastern United States, 1993)
235 - Schoolhouse Blizzard, (Great Plains, USA, 1888)
144 - Armistice Day Blizzard, (Midwest, USA, 1940)
29 - Blizzard of 1977 (Buffalo, New York, USA, 1977)

Contractible Diseases

300,000,000+ - Smallpox (20th Century alone)
300,000,000+ - Bubonic Plague: Black Death - 1300's-1720's; Plague of Justinian - 540-590; Third Pandemic - 1850's-1950's (same disease)
20,000,000 - 100,000,000 - Spanish Flu (worldwide, 1918 - 1919)
10,000,000 - 100,000,000 - deaths from diseases in Europe (millions) and the Americas (tens of millions) from diseases exchanged between continents after 1492
25,250,000 - AIDS (deaths worldwide, 1981 - present)
10,000,000 - Bubonic Plague (China, 1892 - 1896)
5,000,000 - Antonine Plague (Roman Empire 165 - 180)
4,000,000 - Asian Flu pandemic (worldwide, 1957)
1,000,000 - Hong Kong Flu pandemic (worldwide, 1968)
130,000 - North American smallpox epidemic (1775 - 1782)
60,000 - Great Plague of London (1666)
775 - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) (Mostly East Asia, few cases in Europe, Canada and United States, 2002-2003)
677 - West Nile Virus outbreak (North America, 1999 - 2004)
107 - H5N1 strain of Bird Flu (started in Asia) (late 1997-present)

Famine

Please Note: Some of these famines may be partially or completely caused by humans.

1,000,000–43,000,000 - Period of Three Difficult Years (China, 1958 - 1961) (most estimates are between 20 and 30 million)
24,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1907
5,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1936
5,000,000 Holodomor (USSR 1932-1934)
5,000,000 Ukraine and Volga Famine (USSR 1921-1922)
3,000,000 Chinese Drought 1941
3,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1928-1930
3,000,000 Indian Drought of 1900
1,500,000 - 3,000,000 Bengal Famine of 1943 (India, 1943)
1,500,000 Indian Drought of 1965-1967
1,200,000 - North Korean famine (North Korea, 1995 - 1998)
1,100,000 - Irish potato famine (1846-1849)
1,000,000 - Ethiopian famine (1984)
150,000 - Finnish famine of 1866-1868
30,000 - Dutch famine of 1944

External Links

Ten deadliest natural disasters

Notes

References

Notes

References

Cyclones, Hurricanes and Typhoons

References

Floods and Landslides

Contractible Diseases

See Also

External Links