List of natural disasters by death toll

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Global multihazard mortality risks and distribution (2005).

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 causes financial loss.

Ten deadliest natural disasters by highest estimated death toll excluding epidemics and famines[edit]

This list takes into account only the highest estimated death toll for each disaster, and lists them accordingly. It does not include epidemics and famines. It does not include several volcanic eruptions with uncertain death tolls resulting from collateral effects such as crop failures; see List of volcanic eruptions by death toll. The list also does not include the 1938 Yellow River flood, which was caused by the deliberate destruction of dikes.

Rank Death toll (Highest estimate) Event Location Date
1. 4,000,000[1][nb 1] 1931 China floods China July 1931
2. 2,000,000[2][3][4] 1887 Yellow River flood September 1887
3. 830,000[5] 1556 Shaanxi earthquake January 23, 1556
4. 655,000 1976 Tangshan earthquake July 28, 1976
5. 500,000+[1] 1970 Bhola cyclone East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) November 13, 1970
6. 316,000[6] 2010 Haiti earthquake Haiti January 12, 2010
7. 300,000+[7] 526 Antioch earthquake Byzantine Empire (now Turkey) May 526
8. ≈300,000[8] 1839 India Cyclone Andhra Pradesh, India November 25, 1839
9. 273,400[9] 1920 Haiyuan earthquake China December 16, 1920
10. 229,000 Typhoon Nina August 7, 1975

Ten deadliest natural disasters since 1900 excluding epidemics and famines[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[1][nb 2] 1931 China floods China July 1931
2. 500,000+[1] 1970 Bhola cyclone East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) November 1970
3. 100,000−316,000[10] 2010 Haiti earthquake Haiti January 12, 2010
4. 273,400 1920 Haiyuan earthquake China December 16, 1920
5. 242,000–655,000 1976 Tangshan earthquake July 28, 1976
6. 229,000 Typhoon Nina—also contributed to Banqiao Dam failure August 7, 1975
7. 227,898 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Indian Ocean December 26, 2004
8. 145,000 1935 Yangtze 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 excluding epidemics and famines[edit]

20th century
Year Death toll Event Location Type Date
1949 40,000 1949 Eastern Guatemalan Floods Guatemala Flood September 28 – October 14
1950 2,910 1950 Pakistan flood Pakistan
1951 4,800 1951 Manchuria flood China September 18
1952 2,336 1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake Russia Earthquake November 4
1953 2,566 1953 Japan floods Japan Flood July
1954 33,000 1954 Yangtze floods China June–September
1955 1,023+ Hurricane Janet Lesser Antilles, Mexico Tropical cyclone September 22–30
1956 4,935 Typhoon Wanda (1956) China August 1
1957 1,200 1957 Hamadan Province earthquake Iran Earthquake December 13
1958 1,269 Typhoon Ida (1958) Japan Tropical cyclone September 26
1959 5,000+ Typhoon Vera
1960 14,174 Severe Cyclonic Storm Ten East Pakistan October 31
1961 11,468 Cyclone Winnie May 6–9
1962 12,225 1962 Buin Zahra earthquake Iran Earthquake September 1
1963 22,000 May 1963 East Pakistan II cyclone East Pakistan Tropical cyclone May 28
1964 7,000 Tropical Storm Joan (1964) Vietnam November 4–11
1965 47,000 1965 Bengal cyclones East Pakistan May 11–12 and June 1–2
1966 2,394–3,000 1966 Varto earthquake Turkey Earthquake August 19
1967 10,000 1967 Paradip cyclone India Tropical cyclone October 26–30
1968 15,000 1968 Dasht-e Bayaz and Ferdows earthquakes Iran Earthquake August 31
1969 3,000 1969 Yangjiang earthquake China July 26
1970 500,000+ 1970 Bhola cyclone India, East Pakistan Tropical cyclone November 3
1971 100,000 Hanoi and Red River Delta flood North Vietnam Flood August 1
1972 5,374 1972 Qir earthquake Iran Earthquake April 10
1973 1,653 1973 Flores cyclone Indonesia Tropical cyclone April 26–30
1974 8,210+ Hurricane Fifi–Orlene Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico September 18–20
1975 229,000 Typhoon Nina (1975) China August 7
1976 242,769–655,000 1976 Tangshan earthquake Earthquake July 28
1977 10,000–50,000 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone India Tropical cyclone November 19
1978 15,000–25,000 1978 Tabas earthquake Iran Earthquake September 16
1979 2,069 Hurricane David Dominican Republic, Dominica Tropical cyclone August 15 – September 8
1980 5,000 1980 El Asnam earthquake Algeria Earthquake October 10
1981 3,000 1981 Golbaf earthquake Iran June 11
1982 2,800 1982 North Yemen earthquake Yemen December 13
1983 1,342 1983 Erzurum earthquake Turkey October 30
1984 1,474 Typhoon Ike Philippines Tropical cyclone August 26 – September 6
1985 23,000 Armero tragedy Colombia Volcanic eruption November 14
1986 1,746 Lake Nyos disaster Cameroon Limnic eruption August 21
1987 5,000 1987 Ecuador earthquakes Ecuador Earthquake March 6
1988 25,000 1988 Armenian earthquake Armenia December 7
1989 3,814 1989 Sichuan flood China Flood July 27
1990 50,000 1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake Iran Earthquake June 21
1991 138,866 1991 Bangladesh cyclone Bangladesh Tropical cyclone April 24–30
1992 2,500 1992 Flores earthquake and tsunami Indonesia Earthquake, Tsunami December 12
1993 9,748 1993 Latur earthquake India Earthquake September 9
1994 1,100 1994 Paez river earthquake Colombia June 6
1995 6,434 Great Hanshin earthquake Japan January 17
1996 1,077 1996 Andhra Pradesh cyclone India Tropical cyclone November 4–7
1997 3,123 Tropical Storm Linda (1997) Vietnam, Thailand Tropical cyclone, Flood November 1–9
1998 11,374 Hurricane Mitch Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico Tropical cyclone October 22 – November 9
1999 17,127 1999 Izmit earthquake Turkey Earthquake August 17
2000 800 2000 Mozambique flood Mozambique Flood February–March
21st century
Year Death toll Event Location Type Date
2001 20,085 2001 Gujarat earthquake India Earthquake January 26
2002 1,030 2002 Indian heat wave Heat Wave May
2003 70,000 2003 European heat wave France, Portugal, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Luxemburg, Ireland Heat Wave July–August
2004 227,898 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Somalia Earthquake, Tsunami December 26
2005 87,351 2005 Kashmir earthquake India, Pakistan Earthquake October 8
2006 5,782 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake Indonesia May 26
2007 15,000 Cyclone Sidr Bangladesh, India Tropical cyclone November 11–16
2008 138,373 Cyclone Nargis Myanmar April 27 – May 3
2009 1,115 2009 Sumatra earthquake Indonesia Earthquake September 30
2010 100,000-316,000 2010 Haiti earthquake Haiti January 12
2011 19,747 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Japan Earthquake, Tsunami March 11
2012 1,901 Typhoon Bopha Philippines Tropical cyclone December 4–5
2013 6,340 Typhoon Haiyan Philippines, Vietnam, China November 3–4
2014 2,665[11] 2014 Afghanistan floods Afghanistan Flood April 24 – May 15
2015 8,964 2015 Nepal earthquake Nepal, India Earthquake April 25
2016 676 2016 Ecuador earthquake Ecuador April 16
2017 3,059 Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico, Dominica Tropical cyclone September 19–21
2018 4,340 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami Indonesia Earthquake, Tsunami September 28
2019 1,303 Cyclone Idai Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi Tropical cyclone March 4–7
2020 453 2020 East Africa floods Rwanda, Kenya, Somalia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Tanzania Flood March–May
2021 229 Cyclone Seroja East Timor, Indonesia, Australia Tropical cyclone April 4

Lists of natural disasters by cause[edit]

Deadliest earthquakes[edit]

Main article: Lists of earthquakes
Rank Death toll (estimate) Event Location Date
1. 830,000 1556 Shaanxi earthquake Ming dynasty (now China) January 23, 1556
2. 100,000−316,000 2010 Haiti earthquake Haiti January 12, 2010
3. 242,769–655,000[13] 1976 Tangshan earthquake China July 28, 1976
4. 273,400[9] 1920 Haiyuan earthquake Ningxia, Republic of China (now China) December 16, 1920
5. 250,000–300,000[7] 526 Antioch earthquake Byzantine Empire (now Turkey) May 526
6. 260,000[14] 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[15] Mongol Empire (now China) September 17, 1303
856 Damghan earthquake Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran) December 22, 856
1780 Tabriz earthquake Iran January 8, 1780
12. 150,000 893 Ardabil earthquake Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran) March 23, 893
13. 142,807[16][17] 1923 Great Kantō earthquake Japan September 1, 1923
14. 130,000[18] 533 Aleppo earthquake Byzantine Empire (now Syria) November 29, 533
15. 123,000[1] 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[19][20] 2008 Sichuan earthquake China May 12, 2008
19. 87,351[21] 2005 Kashmir earthquake[citation needed] Pakistan (Azad Kashmir) October 8, 2005
20. 80,000 1721 Tabriz earthquake[22] Iran April 26, 1721
458 Antioch earthquake[23] 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[24][25] Zengid dynasty (now Syria) 1169
25. 77,000 1727 Tabriz earthquake Iran November 18, 1727
26. 73,000[26] 1718 Gansu earthquake Qing Empire (now China) June 19, 1718
27. 70,000 1970 Ancash earthquake[27] Peru May 31, 1970
1033 Ramala earthquake[28] Fatimid Caliphate (now West Bank) December 10, 1033
847 Damascus earthquake[29] Abbasid Caliphate (now Syria) 847
1868 Ecuador earthquakes[30] Ecuador August 15, 1868 – August 16, 1868
31. 60,000 587 Antioch earthquake[31] Byzantine Empire (now Turkey) September 30, 587
1101 Khorasan earthquake[32] 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[33] Abbasid Caliphate (now Syria) September 18, 844
1739 Yinchuan–Pingluo earthquake Qing Empire (now China) January 4, 1739
1042 Tabriz earthquake[34] 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[35] 1755 Lisbon earthquake Portugal November 1, 1755
41. 45,000 850 Iran earthquake[36] Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran) July 15, 850
856 Corinth earthquake[37] Byzantine Empire (now Greece) November 856
856 Tunisia earthquake[38] Abbasid Caliphate (now Tunisia) December 3, 856
44. 42,571[39] 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[40] Roman Empire (now Turkey) 342
662 Damghan earthquake[41] Umayyad Caliphate (now Iran) April 26, 662
1455 Naples earthquake[42] Crown of Aragon (now Italy) December 5, 1455
1754 Cairo earthquake[43] Ottoman Empire (now Egypt) September 2, 1754
1755 Tabriz earthquake[44] Iran June 7, 1755
1797 Riobamba earthquake Spanish Empire (now Ecuador) February 4, 1797

Deadliest famines[edit]

Main articles: List of famines and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll § Anthropogenically exacerbated famine, mass starvation, and illness or disease

Note: Some of these famines may have been caused or partially caused by humans.

Rank Death toll Event Location Date
1. 15,000,000–55,000,000 Great Chinese Famine China 1958–1961
2. 9,000,000–13,000,000[45] Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–1879 1876–1879
4. 11,000,000 Chalisa famine India 1783–1784
Doji bara famine or Skull famine 1789–1793
6. 10,000,000 Great 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 1932–33 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 1921–22 Russia, Ukraine 1921–1922
13. 3,000,000 Chinese famine of 1928–30 China 1928–1930
14. 2,000,000–3,000,000 Chinese famine of 1942–43 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 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 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. 900,000 - 1.500,000 Kyungsin famine of 1670–71 Korea 1670–1671
29. 1,000,000 Orissa famine of 1866 British India 1866

Deadliest impact events[edit]

Main articles: Impact event, Meteorite fall, Meteor shower, and List of meteor air bursts

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[46][47]
3. 10+ China 616 CE a large meteorite fell onto the rebel Lu Ming-Yueh's camp, destroying a wall-attacking tower[47][48]
4. 2 Malacca ship, Indian Ocean 1648 2 sailors killed on board a ship[47]
Podkamennaya Tunguska River, Siberia, Russian Empire 1908 Tunguska event[46]
6. 1 Cremona, Lombardy, Italy 1511 a monk and several animals were killed by stones weighing up to 50 kg (110 lb)[47]
Milan, Lombardy, Italy 1633 or 1664 a monk died after being struck on the thigh by a meteorite[47]
Gascony, France 1790 a farmer was reportedly struck and killed by a meteorite[47]
Oriang, Malwate, India 1825 [46][49]
Chin-kuei Shan, China 1874 a cottage was crushed by a meteorite, killing a child[46][50]
Newtown, Indiana, United States * 1879 a man was killed in bed by a meteorite[46] *later revealed to be a hoax[51]
Dun-le-Poëlier, France 1879 a farmer was killed by a meteorite[46]
Zvezvan, Yugoslavia 1929 a meteorite hit a bridal party[46]

Deadliest limnic eruptions[edit]

Main article: Limnic eruption

Note: Only 2 cases in recorded history.

Rank Death toll Event Location Date
1. 1,744 Lake Nyos disaster Cameroon August 21, 1986
2. 37 Lake Monoun disaster August 15, 1984

Deadliest wildfires/bushfires[edit]

Main article: List of wildfires
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[52] Minnesota, United States October 12, 1918
4. 418+ Great Hinckley Fire September 1, 1894
5. 282 Thumb Fire Michigan, United States September 5, 1881
6. 240 1997 Indonesian forest fires[53][54] Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia September 1997
7. 223 Matheson Fire Ontario, Canada July 29, 1916
8. 191 Black Dragon Fire[53][54] China and Soviet Union May 1, 1987
9. 173 Black Saturday bushfires[53][54] 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. 85 Camp Fire[55] California, United States November 8, 2018
14. 84 2007 Greek forest fires[53] Greece June 28, 2007
15. 82 1949 Landes forest fire France August 19, 1949
16. 75 Ash Wednesday bushfires[53] 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[56][57] Washington and Oregon, United States September 8, 1902
21. 62 1967 Tasmanian fires Australia February 7, 1967
22. 60 1926 Victorian bushfires January 26, 1926
23. 57 1991 Indonesian forest fires[53] Indonesia August 1991
24. 56 1992 Nepal wildfires[53] Nepal March 1992
25. 54 2010 Russian wildfires[53] Russia July 29, 2010

Ten deadliest avalanches/landslides[edit]

Main articles: List of avalanches by death toll and List of landslides
Rank Death toll (estimate) Event Location Date
1. 100,000 1786 Dadu River landslide dam; triggered by the 1786 Kangding-Luding earthquake[58] China 1786
1920 Haiyuan landslides; triggered by the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake[58] 1920
3. 22,000 1970 Huascarán avalanche; triggered by the 1970 Ancash earthquake[59] Peru 1970
4. 10,000–30,000 Vargas tragedy[60] Venezuela 1999
10,000 White Friday avalanches[61][62] Italy 1916
6. 5,000–28,000 Khait landslide[63][64] Tajikistan 1949
7. 4,000–6,000 1941 Huaraz avalanche[65] Peru 1941
4,000 1962 Huascarán avalanche[59] 1962
9. 3,466 1310 Western Hubei landslide[58] China 1310
10. 3,429 1933 Diexi landslides[58] 1933

Ten deadliest blizzards[edit]

Main article: List of blizzards
Rank Death toll (estimate) Event Location Date
1. 4,000 1972 Iran blizzard Iran 1972
2. 3,000 Carolean Death March Norway 1719
3. 926 2008 Afghanistan blizzard Afghanistan 2008
4. 400 Great Blizzard of 1888 United States 1888
5. 353 Great Appalachian Storm of 1950 1950
6. 318 1993 Storm of the Century 1993
7. 286 December 1960 nor'easter 1960
8. 250 Great Lakes Storm of 1913 United States and Canada (Great Lakes region) 1913
9. 235 Schoolhouse Blizzard United States 1888
10. 201 North American blizzard of 1966 1966

Ten deadliest floods[edit]

Main articles: List of floods; List of deadliest floods; and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll § Anthropogenic floods, drownings and 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.
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. 400,000–4,000,000[66] 1931 China floods China 1931
2. 900,000–2,000,000 1887 Yellow River (Huang He) flood 1887
3. 230,000[67] 1975 Banqiao Dam failure 1975
4. 145,000 1935 Yangtze flood 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. 100,000[citation needed] 1911 Yangtze River flood China 1911
8. 100,000[68][69][70][71] The flood of 1099 Netherlands & England 1099
9. 50,000–80,000[69] St. Lucia's flood, storm surge Holy Roman Empire 1287
10. 60,000 North Sea flood, storm surge 1212

Ten deadliest heat waves[edit]

Main article: List of heat waves

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 1988
5. 3,418 2006 European heat wave Europe 2006[72]
6. 2,541 1998 India heat wave India 1998[72]
7. 2,500 2015 Indian heat wave 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[73] 2010 Japanese heat wave Japan 2010

Ten deadliest pandemics / epidemics[edit]

Main article: List of epidemics

Death counts are historical totals unless indicated otherwise. Events in boldface are ongoing.

Rank Death toll (estimate) Event Location Date
1. 75–200 million[74] Black Death Europe, Asia and North Africa 1346–1353
2. 50 million+ (17–100 million)[75][76] 1918 flu pandemic Worldwide 1918–1920
3. 35 million+ (as of 2020)[77] HIV/AIDS pandemic 1981–present
4. 30–50 million[78][79][80] Plague of Justinian Europe and West Asia 541–542
5. 12 million+ (India and China)[81] Third plague pandemic Worldwide 1855–1960
6. 5–15 million[82][83][84][85] Cocoliztli Epidemic of 1545–1548 Mexico 1545–1548
7. 5–10 million[86] Antonine Plague Roman Empire 165–180 (possibly up to 190)
8. 5–8 million[84] 1520 Mexico smallpox epidemic Mexico 1519–1520
9. 3 million+ (as of April 2021)[87] COVID-19 pandemic Worldwide 2019–present
10. 2.5 million[88] 1918–1922 Russia typhus epidemic Russia 1918–1922

Ten deadliest tornadoes[edit]

Main article: List of tornadoes causing 100 or more deaths
Rank Death toll Event Location Date
1. 1,300 The Daulatpur–Saturia tornado Manikganj, Bangladesh 1989
2. 695 The Tri-State Tornado United States (Missouri–Illinois–Indiana) 1925
3. 681 1973 Dhaka tornado Bangladesh 1973
4. 660 1969 East Pakistan tornado East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) 1969
5. 600 The Valletta, Malta tornado Malta 1551 or 1556
6. 500 The Sicily Tornadoes Sicily, Two Sicilies (now Italy) 1851
Narail-Magura tornado Jessore, East Pakistan, Pakistan (now Bangladesh) 1964
Madaripur-Shibchar tornado Bangladesh 1977
9. 400 The Ivanovo-Yaroslavl tornado Soviet Union (now Russia) 1984
10. 317 The Great Natchez Tornado United States (Mississippi–Louisiana) 1840

Ten deadliest tropical cyclones[edit]

See also: List of deadliest Atlantic hurricanes

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[89][better source needed] India October 7, 1737
1839 India Cyclone[8] November 25, 1839
4. 229,000 Super Typhoon Nina—contributed to Banqiao Dam failure China August 7, 1975
5. 200,000[90] Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876 British Raj (now Bangladesh) October 30, 1876
6. 150,000 (30,000–300,000)[91] 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[92] Philippines 1780
10. 10,000–50,000 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone India November 14, 1977

Ten deadliest tsunamis[edit]

See also: List of tsunamis

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).[93]

Rank Death toll Event Location Date
1. 227,898 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Indian Ocean December 26, 2004
2. 123,000[1] 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[35] 1755 Lisbon earthquake Portugal November 1, 1755
5. 30,000–100,000 Minoan eruption Greece 2nd Millennium BC
6. 31,000 1498 Nankai earthquake Japan September 20, 1498
7. 30,000 1707 Hōei earthquake October 28, 1707
8. 27,122[94] 1896 Sanriku earthquake June 15, 1896
9. 25,674 1868 Arica earthquake Chile August 13, 1868
10. 5,700[95]–50,000[96] 365 Crete earthquake Greece July 21, 365

Ten deadliest volcanic eruptions[edit]

Main article: List of volcanic eruptions by death toll
Rank Death toll Event Location Date
1. 71,000+[97] 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora (see also Year Without a Summer) Indonesia April 10, 1815
2. 36,000+[98] 1883 eruption of Krakatoa August 26, 1883
3. 30,000[99] 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée Martinique May 7, 1902
4. 23,000[100] Armero tragedy Colombia November 13, 1985
5. 15,000[101] 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami Japan May 21, 1792
6. 13,000[102] Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD Italy 79
7. 10,000+ 1586 Kelud eruption Indonesia 1586
8. 6,000[103] 1902 Santa Maria eruption Guatemala October 24, 1902
9. 5,000[104] 1919 Kelud mudflow Indonesia May 19, 1919
10. 4,011[105] 1822 Galunggung eruption 1822

See also[edit]

Other lists organized by death toll

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.

References[edit]

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  2. ^ "Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters". Listverse. September 7, 2007.
  3. ^ "NOVA Online | Flood! | Dealing with the Deluge". PBS. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  4. ^ April 2018, Stephanie Pappas-Live Science Contributor 02. "Top 11 Deadliest Natural Disasters in History". livescience.com.
  5. ^ "Top 10 Deadliest Earthquakes". Time. January 13, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  6. ^ Research, CNN Editorial. "Haiti Earthquake Fast Facts". CNN.
  7. ^ a b Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake". Ngdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  8. ^ a b "The Worst Natural Disasters by Death Toll" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April 6, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Death toll of 1920 China earthquake higher than previously estimated". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  10. ^ "Mortality, crime and access to basic needs before and after the Haiti earthquake: a random survey of Port-au-Prince households". Taylor Francis Online. doi:10.1080/13623699.2010.535279.
  11. ^ "Global Catastrophe Recap: December 2014" (PDF). Aon Benfield Analytics. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  12. ^ Ambraseys, N.N.; Melville, C.P. (2005). A History of Persian Earthquakes. Cambridge Earth Science Series. Cambridge University Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-521-02187-6.
  13. ^ "Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths". Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  14. ^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake". Ngdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  15. ^ "china virtual museums_quake". Kepu.net.cn. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  16. ^ "Today in Earthquake History". Earthquake.usgs.gov. October 2, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  17. ^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake". Ngdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  18. ^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake". Ngdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
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External links[edit]

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