A natural disaster is a sudden event that causes widespread destruction, major 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. To be classified as a disaster, it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently incurs financial loss.
Ten deadliest natural disasters [ edit ]
Notes: 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 . This list does not include Epidemics and Famines. This list names event considered as a single event within one year. 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. [1]
Rank
Death toll (estimate)
Event
Location
Date
1.
1,000,000 –4,000,000[2] [nb 1]
1931 China floods
China
July 1931
2.
900,000 –2,000,000[3]
1887 Yellow River flood
China
September 1887
3.
830,000 [4]
1556 Shaanxi earthquake
China
January 23, 1556
4.
≥500,000 [2]
1970 Bhola cyclone
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
November 13, 1970
5.
316,000
2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti
January 12, 2010
6.
300,000
1839 India cyclone [5]
India
November 25, 1839
1737 Calcutta cyclone [6]
India
October 7, 1737
8.
273,400[7]
1920 Haiyuan earthquake
China
December 16, 1920
9.
250,000 –300,000[8]
526 Antioch earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Turkey)
May 526
10.
242,769 –655,000
1976 Tangshan earthquake
China
July 28, 1976
Ten deadliest natural disasters since 1900 [ edit ]
Note: This list does not include industrial or technological accidents, epidemics, famines or the 1938 Yellow River flood .
Rank
Death toll (estimate)
Event*
Location
Date
1.
1,000,000 –4,000,000
1931 China floods
China
July 1931
2.
≥500,000 [2]
1970 Bhola cyclone
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
November 1970
3.
316,000 [9]
2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti
January 12, 2010
4.
273,400
1920 Haiyuan earthquake
China
December 16, 1920
5.
242,769 –655,000
1976 Tangshan earthquake
China
July 28, 1976
6.
229,000
Typhoon Nina —contributed to Banqiao Dam failure
China
August 7, 1975
7.
227,898
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Indian Ocean
December 26, 2004
8.
145,000
1935 Yangtze river flood
China
1935
9.
143,000
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
Japan
September 1, 1923
10.
138,866
1991 Bangladesh cyclone
Bangladesh
April 29, 1991
Deadliest natural disasters by year [ edit ]
Year
Death toll
Event*
Location
Type
Date
2019
1,303
Cyclone Idai
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi
Tropical cyclone
March 4–7
2018
4,340
2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami
Indonesia
Earthquake, Tsunami
September 28
2017
3,059
Hurricane Maria
Puerto Rico, Dominica
Tropical cyclone
September 19–21
2016
676
2016 Ecuador earthquake
Ecuador
Earthquake
April 16
2015
8,964
2015 Nepal earthquake
Nepal , India
Earthquake
April 25
2014
729
2014 Ludian earthquake
China
Earthquake
August 3
2013
6,340
Typhoon Haiyan
Philippines, Vietnam, China
Tropical cyclone
November 3–4
2012
1,901
Typhoon Bopha
Philippines
Tropical cyclone
December 4–5
2011
15,897
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Japan
Earthquake, Tsunami
March 11
2010
160,000
2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti
Earthquake
January 12
2009
1,115
2009 Sumatra earthquake
Indonesia
Earthquake
September 30
2008
138,373
Cyclone Nargis
Myanmar
Tropical cyclone
April 27 – 3 May
2007
15,000
Cyclone Sidr
Bangladesh, India
Tropical cyclone
November 11–16
2006
5,782
2006 Yogyakarta earthquake
Indonesia
Earthquake
26 May
2005
87,351
2005 Kashmir earthquake
India , Pakistan
Earthquake
October 8
2004
227,898
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Somalia
Earthquake, Tsunami
December 26
2003
70,000
2003 European heat wave
France, Portugal, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Luxemburg, Ireland
Heat Wave
July–August
2002
1,030
2002 Indian heat wave
India
Heat Wave
May
2001
20,085
2001 Gujarat earthquake
India
Earthquake
January 26
2000
800
2000 Mozambique flood
Mozambique
Flood
February–March
1999
17,127
1999 Izmit earthquake
Turkey
Earthquake
August 17
1998
11,374
Hurricane Mitch
Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico
Tropical cyclone
October 22–November 9
1997
3,123
Tropical Storm Linda (1997)
Vietnam
Tropical cyclone, Flood
November 1–9
1996
1,007
1996 Andhra Pradesh cyclone
India
Tropical cyclone
November 4–7
1995
6,434
Great Hanshin earthquake
Japan
Earthquake
January 17
1994
1,100
1994 Paez river earthquake
Colombia
Earthquake
June 6
1993
9,748
1993 Latur earthquake
India
Earthquake
September 9
1992
2,500
1992 Flores earthquake and tsunami
Indonesia
Earthquake, Tsunami
December 12
1991
138,866
1991 Bangladesh cyclone
Bangladesh
Tropical cyclone
April 24–30
1990
50,000
1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake
Iran
Earthquake
June 21
1989
1,036
Typhoon Gay (1989)
Thailand, India
Tropical cyclone
November 1–10
1988
25,000
1988 Armenian earthquake
Armenia
Earthquake
December 7
1987
5,000
1987 Ecuador earthquakes
Ecuador
Earthquake
March 6
1986
1,746
Lake Nyos disaster
Cameroon
Limnic eruption
August 21
1985
23,000
Armero tragedy
Colombia
Volcanic eruption
November 14
1984
1,474
Typhoon Ike
Philippines
Tropical cyclone
August 26–September 6
1983
1,342
1983 Erzurum earthquake
Turkey
Earthquake
October 30
1982
2,800
1982 North Yemen earthquake
Yemen
Earthquake
December 13
1981
3,000
1981 Golbaf earthquake
Iran
Earthquake
June 11
1980
5,000
1980 El Asnam earthquake
Algeria
Earthquake
October 10
1979
2,069
Hurricane David
Dominican Republic, Dominica
Tropical cyclone
August 15–September 8
Lists of natural disasters by cause [ edit ]
Deadliest earthquakes [ edit ]
Rank
Death toll (estimate)
Event
Location
Date
1.
830,000
1556 Shaanxi earthquake
Ming dynasty (now China)
January 23, 1556
2.
316,000
2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti
January 12, 2010
3.
242,769 –655,000[11]
1976 Tangshan earthquake
China
July 28, 1976
4.
273,400 [7]
1920 Haiyuan earthquake
Ningxia , Republic of China (now China)
December 16, 1920
5.
250,000 –300,000[8]
526 Antioch earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Turkey )
May 526
6.
260,000 [12]
115 Antioch earthquake
Roman Empire (now Turkey )
December 13, 115
7.
230,000
1138 Aleppo earthquake
Zengid dynasty (now Syria )
October 11, 1138
8.
227,898
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
Indonesia
December 26, 2004
9.
200,000
1303 Hongdong earthquake [13]
Mongol Empire (now China)
September 17, 1303
856 Damghan earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran )
December 22, 856
1780 Tabriz earthquake[14]
Iran
January 8, 1780
12.
150,000
893 Ardabil earthquake
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran )
March 23, 893
13.
142,807 [15] [16]
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
Japan
September 1, 1923
14.
130,000 [17]
533 Aleppo earthquake
Byzantine Empire (now Syria )
November 29, 533
15.
123,000 [2]
1908 Messina earthquake
Italy
December 28, 1908
16.
110,000
1948 Ashgabat earthquake
Turkmen SSR , Soviet Union (now Turkmenistan )
October 5, 1948
17.
100,000
1290 Chihli earthquake
Mongol Empire (now China)
September 27, 1290
18.
87,587 [18] [19]
2008 Sichuan earthquake
China
May 12, 2008
19.
87,351
2005 Kashmir earthquake [citation needed ]
Pakistan (Azad Kashmir )
October 8, 2005
20.
80,000
1721 Tabriz earthquake [20]
Iran
April 26, 1721
458 Antioch earthquake[21]
Byzantine Empire (now Turkey )
September 458
1667 Shamakhi earthquake
Safavid dynasty (now Azerbaijan )
November 1667
1854 Great Nankaidō earthquake
Japan
November 1854
1169 Aleppo earthquake[22] [23]
Zengid dynasty (now Syria )
1169
25.
77,000
1727 Tabriz earthquake
Iran
November 18, 1727
26.
73,000 [24]
1718 Gansu earthquake
Qing Empire (now China)
June 19, 1718
27.
70,000
1970 Ancash earthquake [25]
Peru
May 31, 1970
1033 Ramala earthquake[26]
Fatimid Caliphate (now West Bank )
December 10, 1033
847 Damascus earthquake[27]
Abbasid Caliphate (now Syria )
847
1868 Ecuador earthquakes [28]
Ecuador
August 15, 1868 – August 16, 1868
31.
60,000
587 Antioch earthquake[29]
Byzantine Empire (now Turkey )
September 30, 587
1101 Khorasan earthquake[30]
Great Seljuq Empire (now Iran )
1101
1268 Cilicia earthquake
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (now Turkey )
1268
1693 Sicily earthquake
Kingdom of Sicily (now Italy)
January 11, 1693
1935 Quetta earthquake
British India (now part of Pakistan )
May 31, 1935
36.
50,000
844 Damascus earthquake[31]
Abbasid Caliphate (now Syria )
September 18, 844
1042 Tabriz earthquake[32]
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran )
November 4, 1042
1783 Calabrian earthquakes
Kingdom of Naples (now Italy)
1783
1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake
Iran
June 21, 1990
40.
40,000 –50,000[33]
1755 Lisbon earthquake
Portugal
November 1, 1755
41.
45,000
850 Iran earthquake[34]
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran )
July 15, 850
856 Corinth earthquake[35]
Byzantine Empire (now Greece )
November 856
856 Tunisia earthquake[36] [37]
Abbasid Caliphate (now Tunisia )
December 3, 856
44.
42,571 [38]
1668 Shandong earthquake
Qing Empire (now China)
July 25, 1668
45.
40,900
1927 Gulang earthquake
Gansu , China
May 22, 1927
46.
40,000
342 Antioch earthquake[39]
Roman Empire (now Turkey )
342
662 Damghan earthquake[40]
Umayyad Caliphate (now Iran )
April 26, 662
1455 Naples earthquake[41]
Crown of Aragon (now Italy)
December 5, 1455
1754 Cairo earthquake[42]
Ottoman Empire (now Egypt )
September 2, 1754
1755 Tabriz earthquake[43]
Iran
June 7, 1755
1797 Riobamba earthquake
Spanish Empire (now Ecuador )
February 4, 1797
Deadliest famines [ edit ]
Note: Some of these famines may have been caused or partially caused by humans.
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
15,000,000–43,000,000
Great Chinese Famine
China
1958 –1961
2.
25,000,000[citation needed ]
Chinese Famine of 1907
China
1907 –1911
3.
9,000,000–13,000,000[44]
Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–1879
China
1876 –1879
4.
11,000,000
Chalisa famine
India
1783 –1784
Doji bara famine or Skull famine
India
1789 –1793
6.
10,000,000
Bengal famine of 1770 , incl. Bihar & Orissa
British India
1769 –1773
7.
7,500,000
Great European Famine
Europe (all)
1315 –1317
8.
7,400,000
Deccan famine of 1630–32
Mughal Empire now india
1630 –1632
9.
5,000,000–8,000,000
Soviet famine of 1932–1933 (Holodomor in Ukraine)
Soviet Union
1932 –1933
10.
5,500,000
Indian Great Famine of 1876–78
British India
1876 –1878
11.
5,000,000
Chinese Famine of 1936
China
1936
Russian famine of 1921
Russia , Ukraine
1921 –1922
13.
3,000,000
Chinese famine of 1928–1930
China
1928 –1930
14.
2,000,000–3,000,000
Chinese famine of 1942–43
China
1942 –1943
15.
2,400,000
Japanese famine
Japanese Java
1944 –1945
16.
2,000,000
Russian famine of 1601–1603
Russia (Muscovy)
1601 –1603
Deccan famine of 1702–1704
India
1702 –1704
Upper Doab famine of 1860–61
British India
1860 –1861
Indian Famine
British India
1896 –1902
Persian famine of 1917–1919
Persia
1917 –1918
Famine during the Biafran War
Nigeria
1967 –1970
22.
1,500,000–3,000,000
Bengal famine of 1943
British India
1943 –1944
23.
1,500,000
Rajputana famine of 1869
British India
1868 –1870
Persian famine of 1870–1872
Persia
1870 –1872
25.
1,300,000–1,500,000
French Famine
France
1693 –1694
26.
1,000,000–1,500,000
Great Irish Famine
Ireland
1846 –1849
Soviet famine of 1946–47
Soviet Union
1946 –1947
28.
1,000,000
Orissa famine of 1866
British India
1866
Deadliest impact events [ edit ]
Note: Although there have been no scientifically verified cases of astronomical objects resulting in human fatalities, there have been several reported occurrences throughout human history. Consequently, the casualty figures for all events listed are considered unofficial.
Rank
Death toll (unofficial)
Location
Date
Notes
1.
10,000+
Qingyang , Gansu, China
1490
1490 Ch'ing-yang event
2.
"Tens"
Changshou District , Chongqing, China
1639
10 homes destroyed[45] [46]
3.
10+
China
616 CE
a large meteorite fell onto the rebel Lu Ming-Yueh's camp, destroying a wall-attacking tower[46]
4.
2
Malacca ship, Indian Ocean
1648
2 sailors killed on board a ship[46]
Podkamennaya Tunguska River , Siberia , Russian Empire
1908
Tunguska event [45]
6.
1
Cremona , Lombardy, Italy
1511
a monk and several animals were killed by stones weighing up to 50 kg[46]
Milan , Lombardy, Italy
1633 or 1664
a monk died after being struck on the thigh by a meteorite[46]
Gascony , France
1790
a farmer was reportedly struck and killed by a meteorite[46]
Oriang, Malwate, India
1825
[45] [47]
Chin-kuei Shan, China
1874
a cottage was crushed by a meteorite, killing a child[45] [48]
Newtown, Indiana , United States
1879
a man was killed in bed by a meteorite[45]
Dun-le-Poëlier , France
1879
a farmer was killed by a meteorite[45]
Zvezvan, Yugoslavia
1929
a meteorite hit a bridal party[45]
Deadliest limnic eruptions [ edit ]
Note: Only 2 cases in recorded history.
Deadliest wildfires / bushfires [ edit ]
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 [49]
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.
240
1997 Indonesian forest fires [50] [51]
Sumatra and Kalimantan , Indonesia
September 1997
7.
223
Matheson Fire
Ontario , Canada
July 29, 1916
8.
191
Black Dragon Fire [50] [51]
China and Soviet Union
May 1, 1987
9.
180
Black Saturday bushfires [50] [51]
Australia
February 7, 2009
10.
160–300
Miramichi Fire
Canada
October 7, 1825
11.
102
2018 Attica wildfires
Greece
July 23, 2018
12.
87
Great Fire of 1910
Montana and Idaho , United States
August 20, 1910
13.
86
Camp Fire [52]
California, United States
November 8, 2018
14.
84
2007 Greek forest fires [50]
Greece
June 28, 2007
15.
82
1949 Landes forest fire
France
August 19, 1949
16.
75
Ash Wednesday bushfires [50]
Australia
February 16, 1983
17.
73–200
Great Porcupine Fire
Canada
July 11, 1911
18.
71
Black Friday bushfires
Australia
January 13, 1939
19.
66
2017 Portugal wildfires
Portugal
June 17, 2017
20.
65+
Yacolt Burn [53] [54]
Washington and Oregon , United States
September 8, 1902
21.
62
1967 Tasmanian fires
Australia
February 7, 1967
22.
60
1926 Victorian bushfires
Australia
January 26, 1926
23.
57
1991 Indonesian forest fires[50]
Indonesia
August 1991
24.
56
1992 Nepal wildfires[50]
Nepal
March 1992
25.
54
2010 Russian wildfires [50]
Russia
July 29, 2010
Ten deadliest avalanches / landslides [ edit ]
Rank
Death toll (estimate)
Event
Location
Date
1.
100,000
1786 Dadu River landslide dam ; triggered by the 1786 Kangding-Luding earthquake [55]
China
1786
1920 Haiyuan landslides; triggered by the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake [55]
China
1920
3.
22,000
1970 Huascarán avalanche; triggered by the 1970 Ancash earthquake [56]
Peru
1970
4.
10,000 –30,000
Vargas tragedy [57]
Venezuela
1999
10,000
White Friday avalanches [58] [59]
Italy
1916
6.
5,000 –28,000
Khait landslide [60] [61]
Tajikistan
1949
7.
4,000 –6,000
1941 Huaraz avalanche[62]
Peru
1941
4,000
1962 Huascarán avalanche[56]
Peru
1962
9.
3,466
1310 Western Hubei landslide[55]
China
1310
10.
3,429
1933 Diexi landslides [55]
China
1933
Ten deadliest blizzards [ edit ]
Ten deadliest floods [ edit ]
Note: Some of these floods and landslides may be partially caused by humans – for example, by failure of dams, levees , seawalls or retaining walls . This 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).
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
1,000,000–4,000,000[63]
1931 China floods
China
1931
2.
900,000–2,000,000
1887 Yellow River (Huang He) flood
China
1887
3.
229,000[64]
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.
>100,000
St. Felix's Flood , storm surge
Holy Roman Empire
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
Holy Roman Empire
1287
9.
60,000
North Sea flood, storm surge
Holy Roman Empire
1212
10.
36,000
St. Marcellus flood , storm surge
Holy Roman Empire
1219
Ten deadliest heat waves [ edit ]
Note: 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.
9,500
1901 eastern United States heat wave
United States
1901
4.
5,000–10,000
1988 United States heat wave
United States
1988
5.
3,418
2006 European heat wave
Europe
2006[65]
6.
2,541
1998 India heat wave
India
1998[65]
7.
2,500
2015 Indian heat wave
India
2015
8.
2,000
2015 Pakistan heat wave
Pakistan
2015
9.
1,700–5,000
1980 United States heat wave
United States
1980
10.
1,718[66]
2010 Japanese heat wave
Japan
2010
Ten deadliest pandemics / epidemics [ edit ]
Death counts are historical totals unless indicated otherwise.
Rank
Death toll (estimate)
Event
Location
Date
1.
300,000,000 approx.
Smallpox
Worldwide
1900 to eradication.[67] Declared eradicated May 8, 1980.[68] 300 million smallpox deaths between 1900 and eradication would mean that, out of 4,713,503,215 worldwide deaths between 1900 and 1995,[69] 6.36% were from smallpox. Applied to the estimated total of ca. 95 billion deaths between 50000 BC and 1900,[70] this would mean that over 6 billion deaths in this period were from smallpox.
2.
200,000,000
Measles
Worldwide
last 150 years (as of 2010) [71]
3.
100,000,000 approx.
Black Death
Worldwide
1331 –1820
4.
80,000,000 –250,000,000
Malaria
Worldwide
20th century – present[update] . (as of 2014) The World Health Report 1999 (WHO) states that "during the first half of the 20th century, the world sustained around 2 million deaths from malaria each year," so for that period alone, there were a hundred million deaths. After that, mortality was halved by better treatment and eradication efforts, so approximately another 64 million deaths were due to Malaria.[72]
5.
50,000,000 –100,000,000
Spanish flu
Worldwide
1918 –1920
6.
40,000,000 –100,000,000
Plague of Justinian
Asia, Europe, Africa
540 –590
7.
40,000,000 –100,000,000
Tuberculosis
Worldwide
20th century – present[update] .[71] There were about 1 billion worldwide deaths from TB in the 19th and 20th centuries.[73] At the turn of the 19th Century there were 7 million worldwide annual deaths from TB.[74] Projected to the whole century, this would mean ca. 700 million tuberculosis deaths in the 19th Century, leaving 300 million deaths for the 20th Century. There were 5,000,000 worldwide deaths from TB per year in, respectively, 1939[75] and 1954.[76]
8.
30,000,000 [77]
AIDS pandemic
Worldwide
1960 –present (as of 2012)
9.
12,000,000
Third Pandemic of Bubonic Plague
Worldwide
1855 –1960
10.
5,000,000
Antonine Plague
Roman Empire
165 –180
Ten deadliest tornadoes [ edit ]
Ten deadliest tropical cyclones [ edit ]
Note: Earlier versions of this list have included the so-called 'Bombay Cyclone of 1882 ' in tenth position, but this supposed event has been proven to be a hoax .
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
≥500,000
1970 Bhola cyclone
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh )
November 13, 1970
2.
300,000
1737 Calcutta cyclone [6]
India
October 7, 1737
1839 India Cyclone [5]
India
November 25, 1839
4.
229,000
Super Typhoon Nina —contributed to Banqiao Dam failure
China
August 7, 1975
5.
200,000[78]
Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876
British Raj (now Bangladesh )
October 30, 1876
6.
150,000 (30,000 to 300,000)[79]
1881 Haiphong Typhoon
Vietnam
October 8, 1881
7.
138,866
1991 Bangladesh cyclone
Bangladesh
April 29, 1991
8.
138,373
Cyclone Nargis
Myanmar
May 2, 2008
9.
100,000
July 1780 typhoon[80]
Philippines
1780
10.
≥50,000
1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone
India
November 14, 1977
Ten deadliest tsunamis [ edit ]
Note: A possible tsunami in 1782 that caused about 40,000 deaths in the Taiwan Strait area may have been of "meteorological" origin (a cyclone). [81]
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
227,898
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
Indian Ocean
December 26, 2004
2.
123,000 [2]
1908 Messina earthquake
Italy
December 28, 1908
3.
36,417 –120,000
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
Indonesia
August 26, 1883
4.
40,000 –50,000[33]
1755 Lisbon earthquake
Portugal
November 1, 1755
5.
30,000 -100,000 (est.)
Minoan Eruption
Greece
2nd Millennium BC
6.
31,000
1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake
Japan
September 20, 1498
7.
30,000
1707 Hōei earthquake
Japan
October 28, 1707
8.
27,122 [82]
1896 Sanriku earthquake
Japan
June 15, 1896
9.
25,674
1868 Arica earthquake
Chile
August 13, 1868
10.
5,700 [83] –50,000[84]
365 Crete earthquake
Greece
July 21, 365
Ten deadliest volcanic eruptions [ edit ]
Rank
Death toll
Event
Location
Date
1.
71,000+[85]
1815 eruption of Mount Tambora (see also Year Without a Summer )
Indonesia
April 10, 1815
2.
36,000+[86]
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
Indonesia
August 26, 1883
3.
30,000[87]
Mount Pelée
Martinique
May 7, 1902
4.
23,000[88]
Armero tragedy
Colombia
November 13, 1985
5.
15,000[89]
1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami
Japan
May 21, 1792
6.
10,000
Mount Kelud
Indonesia
1586
7.
6,000[90]
Santa Maria
Guatemala
October 24, 1902
8.
5,000[91]
Mount Kelud
Indonesia
May 19, 1919
9.
4,011[92]
Mount Galunggung
Indonesia
1822
10.
3,500
El Chichón
Mexico
1982
See also [ edit ]
Other lists organized by death toll
^ Estimate by Novas sources are close to 4 million and yet Encarta's sources report as few as 1 million. Expert estimates report wide variance.
References [ edit ]
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