A natural disaster is a sudden event that causes widespread destruction, lots of collateral damage or loss of life, brought about by forces other than the acts of human beings. A natural disaster might be caused by earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruption, landslide, hurricanes etc. In order to be classified as a disaster, it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently incurs financial loss.
Ten worst natural disasters
Rank
Death toll (estimate)
Event
Location
Date
1
1,000,000 –4,000,000*[1]
1931 China floods
China
July, August, 1931
2
900,000 –2,000,000[2]
1887 Yellow River flood
China
September, October, 1887
3
830,000 [3]
1556 Shaanxi earthquake
China
January 23, 1556
4
450,000 (242,000–655,000)
1976 Tangshan earthquake
China
July 28, 1976
5
375,000 (250,000–500,000)[1]
1970 Bhola cyclone
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh )
November 13, 1970
6
300,000 [4]
1839 India cyclone
India
November 25, 1839
7
300,000[5]
1737 Calcutta cyclone
India
October 7, 1737
8
280,000
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Indian Ocean
December 26, 2004
9
273,400[6]
1920 Haiyuan earthquake
China
December 16, 1920
10
250,000 –300,000[7]
526 Antioch earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Turkey )
May 526
* 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.
The list does not include several volcanic eruptions with uncertain death tolls resulting from collateral effects (crop failures, etc.), though these may have numbered in the millions; see List of volcanic eruptions by death toll .
The list does not include the man-made 1938 Yellow River flood , caused entirely by a deliberate man-made act (an act of war, destroying dikes).
An alternative listing is given by Peter Hough in his 2008 book Global Security .[8]
Ten deadliest natural disasters since 1900
Rank
Death toll (estimate)
Event*
Location
Date
1.
1,000,000 –4,000,000
1931 China floods
China
July 1931
2.
450,000 (242,000–655,000)
1976 Tangshan earthquake
China
July 1976
3.
375,000 (250,000–500,000)
1970 Bhola cyclone
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh )
November 1970
4.
280,000
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Indian Ocean
December 26, 2004
5.
273,400
1920 Haiyuan earthquake
China
December 1920
6.
229,000
Typhoon Nina —contributed to Banqiao Dam failure
China
August 7, 1975
7.
160,000 [9]
2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti
January 12, 2010
8.
145,000
1935 Yangtze river flood
China
1935
9.
143,000
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
Japan
September 1923
10.
138,866
1991 Bangladesh cyclone
Bangladesh
April 1991
This list does not include industrial or technological accidents, epidemics, or the 1938 Yellow River flood .
Lists of natural disasters by cause
Ten deadliest avalanches
Ten deadliest blizzards
Ten deadliest tropical cyclones
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
375,000 (250,000–500,000)
1970 Bhola cyclone
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh )
November 13, 1970
2.
300,000 [4]
1839 India Cyclone
India
November 25, 1839
2.
300,000[5]
1737 Calcutta cyclone
India
October 7, 1737
4.
229,000
Super Typhoon Nina —contributed to Banqiao Dam failure
China
August 7, 1975
5.
200,000[13]
Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876
India (now Bangladesh )
October 30, 1876
6.
150,000 (30,000 to 300,000)[14]
1881 Haiphong Typhoon
Vietnam
October 8, 1881
7.
138,866
1991 Bangladesh cyclone
Bangladesh
April 29, 1991
8.
138,366
Cyclone Nargis
Myanmar
May 2, 2008
9.
100,000[15]
1882 Bombay cyclone
India
1882
10.
80,000[16]
1874 Bengal cyclone
India
October 1874
52 deadliest earthquakes
Rank
Death toll (estimate)
Event
Location
Date
1.
830,000
1556 Shaanxi earthquake
China
January 23, 1556
2.
650,000 –779,000[17] [18] [19]
1976 Tangshan earthquake
China
July 28, 1976
3.
280,000
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
Indonesia
December 26, 2004
4.
273,400 [6]
1920 Haiyuan earthquake
China
December 16, 1920
5.
250,000 –300,000[7]
526 Antioch earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Turkey )
May 526
6.
260,000 [20]
115 Antioch earthquake
Roman Empire (now Turkey )
December 13, 115
7.
230,000
1138 Aleppo earthquake
Zengid dynasty (now Syria )
October 11, 1138
8.
200,000 [21]
1303 Hongdong earthquake
Mongol Empire (now China )
September 17, 1303
9.
200,000
856 Damghan earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran )
December 22, 856
10.
200,000 [22]
1780 Tabriz earthquake
Iran
January 8, 1780
11.
170,000 [23]
896 Udaipur earthquake
India
896
12.
160,000 [9]
2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti
January 12, 2010
13.
150,000
893 Ardabil earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran )
March 23, 893
14.
142,807 [24] [25]
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
Japan
September 1, 1923
15.
130,000 [26]
533 Aleppo earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Syria )
November 29, 533
16.
123,000 [1]
1908 Messina earthquake
Italy
December 28, 1908
17.
110,000
1948 Ashgabat earthquake
Turkmen SSR , Soviet Union (now Turkmenistan )
October 5, 1948
18.
100,000
1290 Chihli earthquake
Mongol Empire (now China )
September 27, 1290
19.
100,000
1970 Ancash earthquake
Peru
May 31, 1970
20.
100,000 [27]
2005 Kashmir earthquake
Pakistan (Azad Kashmir )
October 8, 2005
21.
87,587 [28] [29]
2008 Sichuan earthquake
China
May 12, 2008
22.
80,000 [30]
1721 Tabriz earthquake
Iran
April 26, 1721
23.
80,000 [31]
458 Antioch earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Turkey )
September 458
24.
80,000
1667 Shamakhi earthquake
Safavid dynasty (now Azerbaijan )
November 1667
25.
80,000
1854 Great Nankaidō earthquake
Japan
November 1854
26.
80,000 [32] [33]
1169 Aleppo earthquake
Zengid dynasty (now Syria )
1169
27.
77,000
1727 Tabriz earthquake
Iran
November 18, 1727
28.
73,000 [34]
1718 Gansu earthquake
Qing Empire (now China )
June 19, 1718
29.
70,000 [35]
1033 Ramala earthquake
Fatimid Caliphate (now West Bank )
December 10, 1033
30.
70,000 [36]
847 Damascus earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Syria )
847
31.
70,000 [37]
1868 Ecuador earthquakes
Ecuador
August 15, 1868 and August 16, 1868
32.
60,000 [38]
587 Antioch earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Turkey )
September 30, 587
33.
60,000 [39]
1101 Khorasan earthquake
Great Seljuq Empire (now Iran )
1101
34.
60,000
1268 Cilicia earthquake
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (now Turkey )
1268
35.
60,000
1693 Sicily earthquake
Kingdom of Sicily (now Italy )
January 11, 1693
36.
60,000
1935 Quetta earthquake
India (now part of Pakistan )
May 31, 1935
37.
50,000 [40]
844 Damascus earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Syria )
September 18, 844
38.
50,000 [41]
1042 Tabriz earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran )
November 4, 1042
39.
50,000
1783 Calabrian earthquakes
Kingdom of Naples (now Italy )
1783
40.
50,000
1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake
Iran
June 21, 1990
41.
40,000 –50,000[42]
1755 Lisbon earthquake
Portugal
November 1, 1755
42.
45,000 [43]
850 Iran earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran )
July 15, 850
43.
45,000 [44]
856 Corinth earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Greece )
November 856
44.
45,000 [45] [46]
856 Tunisia earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Tunisia )
December 3, 856
45.
42,571 [47]
1668 Shandong earthquake
Qing Empire (now China )
July 25, 1668
46.
40,900
1927 Gulang earthquake
Gansu , China
May 22, 1927
47.
40,000 [48]
342 Antioch earthquake
Roman Empire (now Turkey )
342
48.
40,000 [49]
662 Damghan earthquake
Umayyad Caliphate (now Iran )
April 26, 662
49.
40,000 [50]
1455 Naples earthquake
Crown of Aragon (now Italy )
December 5, 1455
50.
40,000 [51]
1754 Cairo earthquake
Ottoman Empire (now Egypt )
September 2, 1754
51.
40,000 [52]
1755 Tabriz earthquake
Iran
June 7, 1755
52.
40,000
1797 Riobamba earthquake
Spanish Empire (now Ecuador )
February 4, 1797
Ten deadliest floods / landslides
Note: Some of these floods and landslides may be partially caused by humans – for example, by failure of dams , levees , seawalls or retaining walls .
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
1,000,000–4,000,000[53]
1931 China floods
China
1931
2.
900,000–2,000,000
1887 Yellow River (Huang He) flood
China
1887
3.
229,000[54]
Failure of 62 dams, the largest of which was Banqiao Dam , result of Typhoon Nina .
China
1975
4.
145,000
1935 Yangtze river flood
China
1935
5.
more than 100,000
St. Felix's Flood , storm surge
Netherlands
1530
6.
100,000
Hanoi and Red River Delta flood
North Vietnam
1971
7.
up to 100,000 [citation needed ]
1911 Yangtze River flood
China
1911
8.
50,000–80,000
St. Lucia's flood , storm surge
Netherlands
1287
9.
60,000
North Sea flood, storm surge
Netherlands
1212
10.
36,000
St. Marcellus flood , storm surge
Netherlands
1219
The list does not include the man-made 1938 Yellow River flood caused entirely by a deliberate man-made act (an act of war, destroying dikes).
Deadliest heat waves
Template:Globalize/West
Measuring the number of deaths caused by a heat wave requires complicated statistical analysis, since heat waves tend to cause large numbers of deaths among people weakened by other conditions. As a result, the number of deaths is only known with any accuracy for heat waves in the modern era in countries with developed healthcare systems.
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
70,000
2003 European heat wave
Europe
2003
2.
56,000
2010 Russian heat wave
Russia
2010
3.
5,000–10,000
1988 United States heat wave
United States
1988
4.
3,418
2006 European heat wave
Europe
2006[55]
5.
2,541
1998 India heat wave
India
1998[55]
6.
2,500
2015 Indian heat wave
India
2015
6.
2,500
2015 Pakistan heat wave
Pakistan
2015
8.
1,700–5,000
1980 United States heat wave
United States
1980
9.
1,718
2010 Japanese heat wave
Japan
2010[56]
10.
1,693
1936 North American heat wave
North America
1936[55]
Deadliest limnic eruptions
(Only 2 recorded cases.)
10 deadliest storms (non-cyclones)
10 deadliest tornadoes
10 deadliest tsunamis
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
300,000 -500,000 (est.)
365 Crete earthquake
Greece
July 21, 365
2.
280,000
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
Indian Ocean
December 26, 2004
3.
123,000 [1]
1908 Messina earthquake
Italy
December 28, 1908
4.
36,417 –120,000
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
Indonesia
August 26, 1883
5.
40,000 –50,000[42]
1755 Lisbon earthquake
Portugal
November 1, 1755
6.
30,000 -100,000 (est.)
Minoan Eruption
Greece
2nd Millennium BC
7.
31,000
1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake
Japan
September 20, 1498
8.
30,000
1707 Hōei earthquake
Japan
October 28, 1707
9.
27,122 [57]
1896 Sanriku earthquake
Japan
June 15, 1896
10.
25,674
1868 Arica earthquake
Chile
August 13, 1868
A 1782 possible tsunami causing about 40,000 deaths in the Taiwan Strait area may have been of "meteorological" origin (a cyclone)[58]
10 deadliest volcanic eruptions
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
92,000
1815 eruption of Mount Tambora (see also Year Without a Summer )
Indonesia
April 10, 1815
2.
36,000
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
Krakatoa , Indonesia
August 26–27, 1883
3.
33,000
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
Mount Vesuvius , Pompeii and Herculaneum , Italy
August 24, 79 A.D.
4.
29,000
Mount Pelée
Martinique
May 7 or May 8, 1902
5.
23,000
Armero tragedy
Nevado del Ruiz , Colombia
November 13, 1985
6.
15,000
1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami
Japan
1792
7.
12,000
Mayon Volcano
Philippines
1814
8.
10,000
Mount Kelud
Indonesia
1586
9.
9,350 (25% of population of Iceland)
Laki
Iceland
June 8, 1783
10.
6,000
Santa Maria
Guatemala
1902
10 deadliest wildfires / bushfires
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
1,200–2,500
Peshtigo Fire , Wisconsin
United States
October 8, 1871
2.
1,200
Kursha-2 Fire
Soviet Union
August 3, 1936
3.
453
Cloquet Fire , Minnesota
United States
October 12, 1918
4.
418
Great Hinckley Fire , Minnesota
United States
September 1, 1894
5.
282
Thumb Fire , Michigan
United States
September 5, 1881
6.
273
Matheson Fire , Ontario
Canada
July 29, 1916
7.
240
Sumatra and Kalimantan Fires
Indonesia
1997
8.
213
Black Dragon Fire
China
May 1987
9.
173
Black Saturday bushfires
Australia
February 7 – March 14, 2009
10.
160
Miramichi Fire
Canada
October 1825
See also
Other lists organized by death toll
References
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^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Ngdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2014-02-13 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
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^ [1] [dead link ]
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ http://earthquakes.findthedata.org/l/1220/Egypt-Al-qahirah-cairo
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^ 229,000 is the highest of a range of unofficial estimates, including also deaths of ensuing epidemics and famine, in Yi 1998 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYi1998 (help )
^ a b c "You're experiencing world's 5th deadliest heatwave ever" . Times of India. Retrieved 31 May 2015 .
^ Kanoko Matsuyama; Shigeru Sato (13 July 2011). "Heatstroke Deaths Quadruple as Japan Shuns Air Conditioners to Save Power" . Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 1 June 2012 . "last year, when a record 1,718 people died of heatstroke as the summer heat broke records."
^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake" . Retrieved 24 October 2014 .
^ Written records of historical tsunamis in the northeastern South China Sea
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