List of Natural Disasters by Death Toll: Ten Deadliest Natural Disasters Excluding Epidemics and Famines

List of natural disasters by death toll
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
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.
Contents
 1Ten deadliest natural disasters excluding epidemics and famines

 2Ten deadliest natural disasters since 1900 excluding epidemics and
famines
 3Deadliest natural disasters by year
 4Lists of natural disasters by cause
o 4.1Deadliest earthquakes
o 4.2Deadliest famines
o 4.3Deadliest impact events
o 4.4Deadliest limnic eruptions
o 4.5Deadliest wildfires / bushfires
o 4.6Ten deadliest avalanches / landslides
o 4.7Ten deadliest blizzards
o 4.8Ten deadliest floods
o 4.9Ten deadliest heat waves
o 4.10Ten deadliest pandemics / epidemics
o 4.11Ten deadliest tornadoes
o 4.12Ten deadliest tropical cyclones
o 4.13Ten deadliest tsunamis
o 4.14Ten deadliest volcanic eruptions
 5See also
 6Notes
 7References
 8External links
Ten deadliest natural disasters excluding epidemics and

famines[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 takes into account only the highest estimated death toll for each disaster,
and lists them accordingly
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]
Death toll
Rank Event Location Date
(estimate)
1. 4,000,000[2][nb 1] 1931 China floods China July 1931
1887 Yellow River

2. 2,000,000[3][4][5] China September 1887
flood
1556 Shaanxi January 23,

3. 830,000[6] China
earthquake 1556
1976 Tangshan
4. 655,000 China July 28, 1976
earthquake
East Pakistan (now November 13,

5. ≥500,000[2] 1970 Bhola cyclone
Bangladesh) 1970
2010 Haiti January 12,

6. 316,000[7] Haiti
earthquake 2010
526 Antioch Byzantine Empire (now

7. ≥300,000[8] May 526
earthquake Turkey)
1881 Haiphong
8. 300,000[9] Vietnam October 8, 1881
typhoon
1920 Haiyuan December 16,

9. 273,400[10] China
earthquake 1920
10. 229,000 Typhoon Nina China 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.
Death toll
Rank Event* Location Date
(estimate)
1. 400,000–4,000,000 1931 China floods China July 1931
East Pakistan (now November

2. ≥500,000[2] 1970 Bhola cyclone
Bangladesh) 1970
January 12,
3. 100,000−316,000[11] 2010 Haiti earthquake Haiti
2010
December 16,
4. 273,400 1920 Haiyuan earthquake China
1920
5. 242,769–655,000 1976 Tangshan earthquake China July 28, 1976
Typhoon Nina—contributed August 7,

6. 229,000 China
to Banqiao Dam failure 1975
2004 Indian Ocean December 26,

7. 227,898 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami 2004
8. 145,000 1935 Yangtze river flood China 1935
1923 Great Kantō September 1,

9. 143,000 Japan
earthquake 1923
April 29,
10. 138,866 1991 Bangladesh cyclone Bangladesh
1991
Deadliest natural disasters by year[edit]

Death
Year Event* Location Type Date
toll
Rwanda, Kenya,
Somalia, Burundi,
2020 East
2020 369 Ethiopia, Uganda, Flood April–May
Africa floods
Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Djibouti
Mozambique,
2019 1,303 Cyclone Idai Tropical cyclone March 4–7
Zimbabwe, Malawi
2018 Sulawesi
September
2018 4,340 earthquake and Indonesia Earthquake, Tsunami
28
tsunami
September
2017 3,059 Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico, Dominica Tropical cyclone
19–21
2016 Ecuador
2016 676 Ecuador Earthquake April 16
earthquake
2015 Nepal
2015 8,964 Nepal, India Earthquake April 25
earthquake
2014 Ludian
2014 729 China Earthquake August 3
earthquake
Philippines, Vietnam, November

2013 6,340 Typhoon Haiyan Tropical cyclone
China 3–4
December
2012 1,901 Typhoon Bopha Philippines Tropical cyclone
4–5
2011 Tōhoku
2011 15,897 earthquake and Japan Earthquake, Tsunami March 11
tsunami
Death
toll
100,000- 2010 Haiti

2010 Haiti Earthquake January 12
316,000 earthquake
2009 Sumatra September

2009 1,115 Indonesia Earthquake
earthquake 30
April 27 – 3
2008 138,373 Cyclone Nargis Myanmar Tropical cyclone
May
November
2007 15,000 Cyclone Sidr Bangladesh, India Tropical cyclone
11–16
2006
2006 5,782 Yogyakarta Indonesia Earthquake 26 May
earthquake
2005 Kashmir
2005 87,351 India, Pakistan Earthquake October 8
earthquake
2004 Indian
Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
Ocean December
2004 227,898 India, Thailand, Earthquake, Tsunami
earthquake and 26
Somalia
tsunami
France, Portugal, United

Kingdom, Netherlands,
2003 European July–
2003 70,000 Germany, Spain, Heat Wave
heat wave August
Sweden, Italy,
Luxemburg, Ireland
2002 Indian heat

2002 1,030 India Heat Wave May
wave
2001 Gujarat
2001 20,085 India Earthquake January 26
earthquake
Death
toll
2000
February–
2000 800 Mozambique Mozambique Flood
March
flood
1999 Izmit
1999 17,127 Turkey Earthquake August 17
earthquake
Honduras, Nicaragua,
October 22–
1998 11,374 Hurricane Mitch El Salvador, Guatemala, Tropical cyclone
November 9
Belize, Mexico
Tropical Storm Tropical cyclone, November

1997 3,123 Vietnam
Linda (1997) Flood 1–9
1996 Andhra November

1996 1,007 India Tropical cyclone
Pradesh cyclone 4–7
Great Hanshin
1995 6,434 Japan Earthquake January 17
earthquake
1994 Paez river

1994 1,100 Colombia Earthquake June 6
earthquake
1993 Latur September

1993 9,748 India Earthquake
earthquake 9
1992 Flores
December
1992 2,500 earthquake and Indonesia Earthquake, Tsunami
12
tsunami
1991
1991 138,866 Bangladesh Bangladesh Tropical cyclone April 24–30
cyclone
Death
toll
1990 Manjil–
1990 50,000 Rudbar Iran Earthquake June 21
earthquake
Typhoon Gay November

1989 1,036 Thailand, India Tropical cyclone
(1989) 1–10
1988 Armenian
1988 25,000 Armenia Earthquake December 7
earthquake
1987 Ecuador
1987 5,000 Ecuador Earthquake March 6
earthquakes
Lake Nyos
1986 1,746 Cameroon Limnic eruption August 21
disaster
November
1985 23,000 Armero tragedy Colombia Volcanic eruption
14
August 26–
1984 1,474 Typhoon Ike Philippines Tropical cyclone September
6
1983 Erzurum
1983 1,342 Turkey Earthquake October 30
earthquake
1982 North
December
1982 2,800 Yemen Yemen Earthquake
13
earthquake
1981 Golbaf
1981 3,000 Iran Earthquake June 11
earthquake
1980 El Asnam
1980 5,000 Algeria Earthquake October 10
earthquake
Death
toll
August 15–
Dominican Republic,
1979 2,069 Hurricane David Tropical cyclone September
Dominica
8
Lists of natural disasters by cause[edit]

Deadliest earthquakes[edit]
Main article: List of earthquakes
 Note that the 893 Ardabil earthquake is a 'phantom',

considered a mis-recording of the 893 Dvin
earthquake[12]
Death toll
(estimate)
1556 Shaanxi
1. 830,000 Ming dynasty (now China) January 23, 1556
earthquake
2010 Haiti
2. 100,000−316,000 Haiti January 12, 2010
earthquake
242,769– 1976 Tangshan

3. China July 28, 1976
655,000[13] earthquake
1920 Haiyuan Ningxia, Republic of December 16,

4. 273,400[10]
earthquake China (now China) 1920
250,000– 526 Antioch Byzantine

5. May 526
300,000[8] earthquake Empire (now Turkey)
115 Antioch
6. 260,000[14] Roman Empire (now Turkey) December 13, 115
earthquake
1138 Aleppo
7. 230,000 Zengid dynasty (now Syria) October 11, 1138
earthquake
Death toll
(estimate)
2004 Indian December 26,

8. 227,898 Indonesia
Ocean earthquake 2004
1303 Hongdong September 17,

Mongol Empire (now China)
earthquake[15] 1303
856 Damghan
9. 200,000 Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran) December 22, 856
earthquake
1780 Tabriz
Iran January 8, 1780
earthquake[16]
893 Ardabil
12. 150,000 Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran) March 23, 893
earthquake
1923 Great Kantō September 1,

13. 142,807[17][18] Japan
earthquake 1923
533 Aleppo November 29,

14. 130,000[19] Byzantine Empire (now Syria)
earthquake 533
1908 Messina December 28,

15. 123,000[2] Italy
earthquake 1908
1948 Ashgabat Turkmen SSR, Soviet

16. 110,000 October 5, 1948
earthquake Union (now Turkmenistan)
1290 Chihli September 27,

17. 100,000 Mongol Empire (now China)
earthquake 1290
2008 Sichuan
18. 87,587[20][21] China May 12, 2008
earthquake
Death toll
(estimate)
2005 Kashmir
19. 87,351 earthquake[citation Pakistan (Azad Kashmir) October 8, 2005
needed]
1721 Tabriz
Iran April 26, 1721
earthquake[22]
458 Antioch Byzantine

September 458
earthquake[23] Empire (now Turkey)
1667 Shamakhi Safavid

November 1667
20. 80,000 earthquake dynasty (now Azerbaijan)
1854 Great
Nankaidō Japan November 1854
earthquake
1169 Aleppo
Zengid dynasty (now Syria) 1169
earthquake[24][25]
1727 Tabriz November 18,

25. 77,000 Iran
earthquake 1727
1718 Gansu
26. 73,000[26] Qing Empire (now China) June 19, 1718
earthquake
1970 Ancash
Peru May 31, 1970
earthquake[27]
1033 Ramala Fatimid Caliphate (now West December 10,

27. 70,000
earthquake[28] Bank) 1033
847 Damascus
Abbasid Caliphate (now Syria) 847
earthquake[29]
Death toll
(estimate)
August 15,
1868 Ecuador
Ecuador 1868 – August
earthquakes[30]
16, 1868
587 Antioch Byzantine September 30,

earthquake[31] Empire (now Turkey) 587
1101 Khorasan Great Seljuq

1101
earthquake[32] Empire (now Iran)
1268 Cilicia Armenian Kingdom of

31. 60,000 1268
earthquake Cilicia (now Turkey)
1693 Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily (now Italy) January 11, 1693
earthquake
1935 Quetta British India (now part

May 31, 1935
earthquake of Pakistan)
844 Damascus September 18,

Abbasid Caliphate (now Syria)
earthquake[33] 844
1042 Tabriz November 4,

Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran)
earthquake[34] 1042
36. 50,000
1783 Calabrian Kingdom of Naples (now
1783
earthquakes Italy)
1990 Manjil–
Rudbar Iran June 21, 1990
earthquake
1755 Lisbon November 1,

40. 40,000–50,000[35] Portugal
earthquake 1755
Death toll
(estimate)
850 Iran
Abbasid Caliphate (now Iran) July 15, 850
earthquake[36]
856 Corinth Byzantine

41. 45,000 November 856
earthquake[37] Empire (now Greece)
856 Tunisia Abbasid

December 3, 856
earthquake[38][39] Caliphate (now Tunisia)
1668 Shandong
44. 42,571[40] Qing Empire (now China) July 25, 1668
earthquake
1927 Gulang
45. 40,900 Gansu, China May 22, 1927
earthquake
342 Antioch
Roman Empire (now Turkey) 342
earthquake[41]
662 Damghan
Umayyad Caliphate (now Iran) April 26, 662
earthquake[42]
1455 Naples
Crown of Aragon (now Italy) December 5, 1455
earthquake[43]
46. 40,000
1754 Cairo September 2,
Ottoman Empire (now Egypt)
earthquake[44] 1754
1755 Tabriz
Iran June 7, 1755
earthquake[45]
1797 Riobamba Spanish

February 4, 1797
earthquake Empire (now Ecuador)
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
15,000,000– 1958–
1. Great Chinese Famine China
43,000,000 1961
1907–
2. 25,000,000[46] Chinese Famine of 1907 China
1911
9,000,000– Northern Chinese Famine of 1876– 1876–

3. China
13,000,000[47] 1879 1879
1783–
Chalisa famine India
1784
4. 11,000,000
1789–
Doji bara famine or Skull famine India
1793
Bengal famine of 1770, incl. Bihar 1769–

6. 10,000,000 British India
& Orissa 1773
1315–
7. 7,500,000 Great European Famine Europe (all)
1317
Mughal 1630–
8. 7,400,000 Deccan famine of 1630–32
Empire now india 1632
5,000,000– Soviet famine of 1932– 1932–

9. Soviet Union
8,000,000 1933 (Holodomor in Ukraine) 1933
1876–
10. 5,500,000 Indian Great Famine of 1876–78 British India
1878
Chinese Famine of 1936 China 1936
11. 5,000,000
1921–
Russian famine of 1921 Russia, Ukraine
1922
1928–
13. 3,000,000 Chinese famine of 1928–1930 China
1930
2,000,000– 1942–
14. Chinese famine of 1942–43 China
3,000,000 1943
1944–
15. 2,400,000 Japanese famine Japanese Java
1945
1601–
Russian famine of 1601–1603 Russia (Muscovy)
1603
1702–
Deccan famine of 1702–1704 India
1704
1860–
Upper Doab famine of 1860–61 British India
1861
16. 2,000,000
1896–
Indian Famine British India
1902
1917–
Persian famine of 1917–1919 Persia
1918
1967–
Famine during the Biafran War Nigeria
1970
1,500,000– 1943–
22. Bengal famine of 1943 British India
3,000,000 1944
1868–
Rajputana famine of 1869 British India
1870
23. 1,500,000
1870–
Persian famine of 1870–1872 Persia
1872
1,300,000– 1693–
25. French Famine France
1,500,000 1694
1846–
Great Irish Famine Ireland
1849
1,000,000–
26.
1,500,000
1946–
Soviet famine of 1946–47 Soviet Union
1947
28. 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.
Death toll
Rank Location Date Notes
(unofficial)
1. 10,000+ Qingyang, Gansu, China 1490 1490 Ch'ing-yang event
Changshou District,
2. "Tens" 1639 10 homes destroyed[48][49]
Chongqing, China
a large meteorite fell onto the

rebel Lu Ming-Yueh's camp,
3. 10+ China 616 CE
destroying a wall-attacking
tower[49]
Malacca ship, Indian Ocean 1648 2 sailors killed on board a ship[49]
4. 2
Podkamennaya Tunguska
River, Siberia, Russian 1908 Tunguska event[48]
Empire
Death toll
Rank Location Date Notes
(unofficial)
a monk and several animals

Cremona, Lombardy, Italy 1511 were killed by stones weighing
up to 50 kg[49]
1633 or a monk died after being struck

Milan, Lombardy, Italy
1664 on the thigh by a meteorite[49]
a farmer was reportedly struck

Gascony, France 1790
and killed by a meteorite[49]
[48][50]
Oriang, Malwate, India 1825
6. 1
a cottage was crushed by a
Chin-kuei Shan, China 1874
meteorite, killing a child[48][51]
a man was killed in bed by a

Newtown, Indiana, United
1879 meteorite[48] *later revealed to be
States *
a hoax[52]
a farmer was killed by a

Dun-le-Poëlier, France 1879
meteorite[48]
Zvezvan, Yugoslavia 1929 a meteorite hit a bridal party[48]
Deadliest limnic eruptions[edit]

Main article: Limnic eruption
Note: Only 2 cases in recorded history.
1. 1,744 Lake Nyos disaster Cameroon August 21, 1986
2. 37 Lake Monoun disaster Cameroon August 15, 1984
Deadliest wildfires / bushfires[edit]

Main article: List of wildfires
Death
toll
1,200– October 8,
1. Peshtigo Fire Wisconsin, United States
2,500 1871
2. 1,200 Kursha-2 Fire Soviet Union August 3, 1936
October 12,
3. 453 Cloquet Fire[53] Minnesota, United States
1918
September 1,
4. 418+ Great Hinckley Fire Minnesota, United States
1894
September 5,
5. 282 Thumb Fire Michigan, United States
1881
1997 Indonesian forest Sumatra and Kalimantan, September

6. 240
fires[54][55] Indonesia 1997
7. 223 Matheson Fire Ontario, Canada July 29, 1916
8. 191 Black Dragon Fire[54][55] China and Soviet Union May 1, 1987
Black Saturday February 7,

9. 180 Australia
bushfires[54][55] 2009
October 7,
10. 160–300 Miramichi Fire Canada
1825
11. 102 2018 Attica wildfires Greece July 23, 2018
August 20,
12. 87 Great Fire of 1910 Montana and Idaho, United States
1910
Death
toll
November 8,
13. 86 Camp Fire[56] California, United States
2018
14. 84 2007 Greek forest fires[54] Greece June 28, 2007
August 19,
15. 82 1949 Landes forest fire France
1949
Ash Wednesday February 16,

16. 75 Australia
bushfires[54] 1983
17. 73–200 Great Porcupine Fire Canada July 11, 1911
January 13,
18. 71 Black Friday bushfires Australia
1939
19. 66 2017 Portugal wildfires Portugal June 17, 2017
Washington and Oregon, United September 8,

20. 65+ Yacolt Burn[57][58]
States 1902
February 7,
21. 62 1967 Tasmanian fires Australia
1967
January 26,
22. 60 1926 Victorian bushfires Australia
1926
1991 Indonesian forest

23. 57 Indonesia August 1991
fires[54]
24. 56 1992 Nepal wildfires[54] Nepal March 1992
25. 54 2010 Russian wildfires[54] Russia July 29, 2010

Ten deadliest avalanches / landslides[edit]
Main articles: List of avalanches by death toll and List of landslides
Death toll
(estimate)
1786 Dadu River landslide dam; triggered by

China 1786
the 1786 Kangding-Luding earthquake[59]
1. 100,000
1920 Haiyuan landslides; triggered by the 1920
China 1920
Haiyuan earthquake[59]
1970 Huascarán avalanche; triggered by the 1970

3. 22,000 Peru 1970
Ancash earthquake[60]
10,000–30,000 Vargas tragedy[61] Venezuela 1999

4.
10,000 White Friday avalanches[62][63] Italy 1916
6. 5,000–28,000 Khait landslide[64][65] Tajikistan 1949
4,000–6,000 1941 Huaraz avalanche[66] Peru 1941

7.
4,000 1962 Huascarán avalanche[60] Peru 1962
9. 3,466 1310 Western Hubei landslide[59] China 1310
10. 3,429 1933 Diexi landslides[59] China 1933
Ten deadliest blizzards[edit]

Main article: List of blizzards
Death toll
(estimate)
1. 4,000 1972 Iran blizzard Iran 1972

Death toll
(estimate)
2. 3,000 Carolean Death March Norway 1719
2008 Afghanistan
3. 926 Afghanistan 2008
blizzard
4. 400 Great Blizzard of 1888 United States 1888
Great Appalachian Storm

5. 353 United States 1950
of 1950
1993 Storm of the

Century
December 1960
nor'easter
Great Lakes Storm of United States and Canada (Great

8. 250 1913
1913 Lakes region)
9. 235 Schoolhouse Blizzard United States 1888
North American blizzard

of 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).
1. 400,000–4,000,000[67] 1931 China floods China 1931
1887 Yellow River (Huang He)

2. 900,000–2,000,000 China 1887
flood
3. 229,000[68] 1975 Banqiao Dam failure China 1975
4. 145,000 1935 Yangtze river flood China 1935
Holy Roman
5. >100,000 St. Felix's Flood, storm surge 1530
Empire
6. 100,000 Hanoi and Red River Delta flood North Vietnam 1971
7. up to 100,000[citation 1911 Yangtze River flood China 1911

needed]
Holy Roman
8. 50,000–80,000 St. Lucia's flood, storm surge 1287
Empire
Holy Roman
9. 60,000 North Sea flood, storm surge 1212
Empire
Holy Roman
10. 36,000 St. Marcellus flood, storm surge 1219
Empire
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.
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[69]
6. 2,541 1998 India heat wave India 1998[69]
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[70] 2010 Japanese heat wave Japan 2010
Ten deadliest pandemics / epidemics[edit]

Main article: List of epidemics
Death counts are historical totals unless indicated otherwise.
Death toll
(estimate)
1800 – present (as of

2018).[71] There were about
1 billion worldwide deaths
1. 1×109 Tuberculosis Worldwide from TB in the 19th and
20th centuries.[72][73][74] At
the turn of the 19th
Century there were 7
million worldwide annual
Death toll
(estimate)
deaths from
TB.[75] 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[76] and
1954.[77] Death toll declined
after the discovery of
the BCG vaccine. In 2018
there were 1.5 million
deaths from TB.[78]
1900 to
eradication.[79] Declared
eradicated May 8,
1980.[80] 300 million
smallpox deaths between
2. 300,000,000 approx. Smallpox Worldwide 1900 and eradication
would mean that, out of
4,713,503,215 worldwide
deaths between 1900 and
1995,[81] 6.36% were from
smallpox.
last 150 years (as of

3. 200,000,000 Measles Worldwide
2010)[71]
Second plague
4. 100,000,000 approx. pandemic including Black Worldwide 1331–1820
Death (1331-1353)
20th century – present. (as

of 2014)
The World Health Report

80,000,000– 1999 (WHO) states that
5. Malaria Worldwide
250,000,000 "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
Death toll
(estimate)
million deaths. After that,

mortality was halved by
better treatment and
eradication efforts, so
approximately another
64 million deaths were due
to Malaria.[82]
50,000,000–
6. Spanish flu Worldwide 1918–1920
100,000,000
Asia,
40,000,000–
7. Plague of Justinian Europe, 540–590
100,000,000
Africa
8. 30,000,000[83] AIDS pandemic Worldwide 1960–present (as of 2012)
Third
9. 12,000,000 Pandemic of Bubonic Worldwide 1855–1960
Plague
Roman
10. 5,000,000 Antonine Plague 165–180
Empire
Ten deadliest tornadoes[edit]

Main article: List of tornadoes causing 100 or more deaths
Death
toll
The Daulatpur–Saturia
1. 1,300 Manikganj, Bangladesh 1989
tornado
2. 695 The Tri-State tornado United States (Missouri–Illinois–Indiana) 1925
3. 681 1973 Dhaka tornado Bangladesh 1973
1969 East Pakistan

4. 660 East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) 1969
tornado
The Valletta, Malta 1551 or

5. 600 Malta
tornado 1556
6. 500 The Sicily Tornadoes Sicily, Two Sicilies (now Italy) 1851
Death
toll
The Narail-Magura Jessore, East

1964
tornado Pakistan, Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
The Madaripur-
Bangladesh 1977
Shibchar tornado
The Ivanovo-Yaroslavl
9. 400 Soviet Union (now Russia) 1984
tornado
The Great Natchez

10. 317 United States (Mississippi–Louisiana) 1840
tornado
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.
East November
1. ≥500,000 1970 Bhola cyclone
Pakistan (now Bangladesh) 13, 1970
October 7,
1737 Calcutta cyclone[84] India
1737
2. 300,000
November
1839 India Cyclone[85] India
25, 1839
Super Typhoon Nina—

August 7,
4. 229,000 contributed to Banqiao China
1975
Dam failure
Great Backerganj Cyclone British October 30,

5. 200,000[86]
of 1876 Raj (now Bangladesh) 1876
150,000 (30,000 October 8,

6. 1881 Haiphong Typhoon Vietnam
to 300,000)[87] 1881
April 29,
7. 138,866 1991 Bangladesh cyclone Bangladesh
1991
8. 138,373 Cyclone Nargis Myanmar May 2, 2008
9. 100,000 July 1780 typhoon[88] Philippines 1780
1977 Andhra Pradesh November

10. ≥50,000 India
cyclone 14, 1977
Ten deadliest tsunamis[edit]

See also: List of historic 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).[89]
Indian
1. 227,898 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami December 26, 2004
Ocean
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[35] 1755 Lisbon earthquake Portugal November 1, 1755
30,000-100,000 2nd Millennium

5. Minoan Eruption Greece
(est.) BC
1498 Meiō Nankaidō September 20,

6. 31,000 Japan
earthquake 1498
7. 30,000 1707 Hōei earthquake Japan October 28, 1707
8. 27,122[90] 1896 Sanriku earthquake Japan June 15, 1896
9. 25,674 1868 Arica earthquake Chile August 13, 1868
10. 5,700[91]–50,000[92] 365 Crete earthquake Greece July 21, 365
Ten deadliest volcanic eruptions[edit]

Main article: List of volcanic eruptions by death toll
Death
toll
1815 eruption of Mount Tambora (see

1. 71,000+[93] Indonesia April 10, 1815
also Year Without a Summer)
August 26,
2. 36,000+[94] 1883 eruption of Krakatoa Indonesia
1883
3. 30,000[95] 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée Martinique May 7, 1902
November 13,
4. 23,000[96] Armero tragedy Colombia
1985
5. 15,000[97] 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami Japan May 21, 1792
6. 10,000 Mount Kelud Indonesia 1586
October 24,
7. 6,000[98] Santa Maria Guatemala
1902
8. 5,000[99] Mount Kelud Indonesia May 19, 1919

Death
toll
9. 4,011[100] Mount Galunggung Indonesia 1822
10. 3,500 El Chichón Mexico 1982
See also[edit]
List of countries by natural disaster risk
List of all known deadly earthquakes since 1900
 List of disasters in Canada
 List of disasters in Indonesia
 List of disasters in the Philippines
 List of disasters in Thailand
 List of natural disasters in Great Britain and Ireland
 List of natural disasters in Haiti
 List of natural disasters in New Zealand
 List of natural disasters in Pakistan
 List of natural disasters in the United States
 Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents
 Global catastrophic risk
Other lists organized by death toll
 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll

 List of accidents and disasters by death toll
 List of battles and other violent events by death toll
 List of disasters in Antarctica by death toll
 List of disasters in Australia by death toll
 List of disasters in Canada by death toll
 List of disasters in Croatia by death toll
 List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll
 List of disasters in New Zealand by death toll
 List of disasters in Poland by death toll
 List of disasters in Romania by death toll
 List of disasters in the United States by death toll
 Tsunamis affecting the British Isles
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.
References[edit]
1. ^ Peter Hough (2008). "Chapter 8". Understanding Global
Security. table 8.1. Routledge. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-415-42141-
6. The ten worst natural disasters in history
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e The world's worst natural disasters Calamities
of the 20th and 21st centuries CBC News'.' Retrieved October 29,
2010.
3. ^ https://listverse.com/2007/09/07/top-10-deadliest-natural-
disasters/
4. ^ "NOVA Online | Flood! | Dealing with the Deluge". PBS.
Retrieved August 11, 2010.
5. ^ https://www.livescience.com/33316-top-10-deadliest-natural-
disasters.html
6. ^ "Top 10 Deadliest Earthquakes". Time. January 13, 2010.
Retrieved May 8, 2010.
7. ^ https://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/12/world/haiti-earthquake-fast-
facts/index.html
8. ^ Jump up to:a b Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake".
Ngdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
9. ^ https://www.britannica.com/event/Haiphong-cyclone
10. ^ Jump up to:a b "Death toll of 1920 China earthquake higher than
previously estimated". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved February
13,2014.
11. ^ "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.
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.
16. ^ http://earthquakes.sciencedaily.com/l/1320/Iran-Tabriz[permanent dead
link]
17. ^ "Today in Earthquake History". Earthquake.usgs.gov. October 2,

2012. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
20. ^ "Deaths from Earthquakes in 2008". Earthquake.usgs.gov. April
21, 2010. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015.
24. ^ Syria: Halab (Aleppo), Dimashq (Damascus). "Syria: Halab
(Aleppo), Dimashq (Damascus) Earthquake of 1169".
Earthquakes.findthedata.org. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
25. ^ "What was the magnitude of the Syria: Halab (Aleppo), Dimashq
(Damascus) Earthquake in 1169?". Earthquakes.findthedata.org.
27. ^ "Ancash earthquake of 1970 – Peru".
29. ^ Paula Dunbar. "Significant Earthquake". Retrieved October
24, 2014.
24, 2014.
24, 2014.
24, 2014.
24, 2014.
24, 2014.
35. ^ Jump up to:a b The Opportunity of a Disaster: The Economic
Impact of the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake. Discussion Paper 06/03,
Centre for Historical Economics and Related Research at York,
York University, 2006
24, 2014.
37. ^ "Yahoo! Groups". Retrieved October 24, 2014.
38. ^ http://earthquakes.findthedata.org/l/223/Tunisia-Tunis-Syria-
Egypt-Yemen
39. ^ "How many casualties did the Tunisia: Tunis; Syria; Egypt;
Yemen Earth..." November 18, 2013. Archived from the original on
November 18, 2013.
24, 2014.
24, 2014.
24, 2014.
24, 2014.
44. ^ http://earthquakes.findthedata.org/l/1220/Egypt-Al-qahirah-cairo
24, 2014.
46. ^ https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/disasterrelief/n31.xml
47. ^ Dimensions of need – People and populations at risk. Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
48. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g "Reported Deaths and Injuries from
Meteorite Impact". delong.typepad.com. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
49. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Gritzner, C (1997). "Human Casualties in
Impact Events". WGN. 25: 222. Bibcode:1997JIMO...25..222G.
50. ^ "Some interesting meteorite falls of the last two
centuries". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
51. ^ Lewis, John S. (1997). Rain Of Iron And Ice: The Very Real
Threat Of Comet And Asteroid Bombardment. Basic Books.
p. 172. ISBN 978-0-201-15494-8.
52. ^ Taylor, Stephen J. (April 1, 2015). "Killed by a
Meteorite". Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Newspaper
Program. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
53. ^ Rogers, Paul (November 22, 2018). "Camp Fire is deadliest U.S.
wildfire in 100 years; eerily similar to 1918 inferno that killed
453". East Bay Times. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
54. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h "Capter 3 It Only Takes A Spark: The
Hazard of Wildfires" (PDF). Brookings.edu. Retrieved July
24, 2018.
55. ^ Jump up to:a b c Masters, Jeff. "5th Deadliest Wildfire Globally in
Past 100 Years: 87 Dead from Monday's Greek Fires". Weather
Underground. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
56. ^ "Camp Fire Incident Information". CalFire. Retrieved November
22, 2018.
57. ^ Unknown (June 7, 1931). "Governor Warns of Forest
Danger". The Oregonian.
58. ^ Attwell, Albert (1975). Columbia River Gorge History Volume
Two. Stevenson, WA: Tahlkie Books. pp. 202–203.
59. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "The Landslide Problem" (PDF). IciMod.
Retrieved July 20, 2018.
60. ^ Jump up to:a b "The Peru Earthquake: A Special Study". Bulletin
of the Atomic Scientists. Oct 1970: 17. October 1970.
61. ^ Wieczorek GF, Larsen MC, Eaton LS, Morgan BA, Blair JL
(December 2, 2002). "Debris-flow and flooding hazards associated
with the December 1999 storm in coastal Venezuela and
strategies for mitigation". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved March
31, 2010.
62. ^ "This Day in History". Retrieved December 14, 2014.
63. ^ "The Italian Alps Avalanche of 1916". March 11, 2013.
Retrieved December 14, 2014.
64. ^ Evans, S.G.; Roberts N.J.; Ischuck A.; Delaney K.B.; Morozova
G.S. & Tutubalina O. (November 20, 2009). "Landslides triggered
by the 1949 Khait earthquake, Tajikistan, and associated loss of
life". Engineering Geology. 109 (3–4): 195–
212. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2009.08.007.
65. ^ Yablokov, Alexander (February 2001). "The Tragedy of Khait: A
Natural Disaster in Tajikistan". Mountain Research and
Development. 21 (1): 91–93. doi:10.1659/0276-
4741(2000)021[0091:TTOKAN]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 3674137.
66. ^ Schuster, R.L.; Salcedo, D.A.; Valenzuela, L. (2002). "Overview
of catastrophic landslides of South America in the twentieth
century". In Evans S.G.; Degraff J.V. (eds.). Catastrophic
landslides: Effects, Occurrence, and Mechanisms. Reviews in
Engineering Geology. 15. Geological Society of America. pp. 1–
34. ISBN 978-0-8137-4115-4.
67. ^ "Worst Natural Disasters in History". Nbc10.com. Archived
from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
68. ^ 229,000 is the highest of a range of unofficial estimates,
including also deaths of ensuing epidemics and famine, in Yi 1998
69. ^ Jump up to:a b "You're experiencing world's 5th deadliest
heatwave ever". The Times of India. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
70. ^ Kanoko Matsuyama; Shigeru Sato (July 13, 2011). "Heatstroke
Deaths Quadruple as Japan Shuns Air Conditioners to Save
Power". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved June 1, 2012. "last year,
when a record 1,718 people died of heatstroke as the summer
heat broke records."
71. ^ Jump up to:a b "Torrey EF and Yolken RH. 2005. Their bugs are
worse than their bite. Washington Post, April 3, p. B01".
Birdflubook.com. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
72. ^ Frenk Ryan, The Forgotten Plague (1992 Little, Brown and
Company, Boston New York Toronto London), p. 3
73. ^ https://businesstech.co.za/news/general/71652/the-biggest-
killer-diseases-in-history/
74. ^ http://theconversation.com/four-of-the-most-lethal-infectious-
diseases-of-our-time-and-how-were-overcoming-them-78101
75. ^ Ryan, p. 8.
76. ^ Ryan, pp. 126–27
77. ^ Ryan, p. 30.
78. ^ https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis
79. ^ "UC Davis Magazine, Summer 2006: Epidemics on the Horizon".
Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
Retrieved January 3, 2008.
80. ^ Smallpox and bioterrorism, Bulletin of the World Health
Organization, vol. 81 no. 10 Genebra October 2003 ISSN 0042-
9686
81. ^ Calculated after Population Reference Bureau – How many
people have ever lived on earth?
82. ^ Rosemary Drisdelle, "Malaria Killed Half the People Who Have
Ever Lived" ( 3 April 2014, accessed 26.11.2018)
83. ^ "Global Report Fact Sheet" (PDF). UNAIDS. 2010. Archived
from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2013. Retrieved August
4, 2012.
84. ^ "10 'Worst' Natural Disasters". Eas.slu.edu. Retrieved August
11, 2010.
85. ^ "The Worst Natural Disasters by Death Toll" (PDF). National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April 6, 2008.
Retrieved March 11, 2011.
86. ^ ThinkQuest Team #C003603. "Hurricanes: case studies".
Library.thinkquest.org. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010.
Retrieved August 11, 2010.
87. ^ David Longshore (2008). Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons,
and Cyclones, New Edition. Facts on File, New York, NY,
US. ISBN 978-1-4381-1879-6.
88. ^ Pedro Ribera, Ricardo Garcia-Herrera and Luis Gimeno (July
2008). "Historical Deadly Typhoons in the
Philippines" (PDF). Weather. 63 (7):
196. Bibcode:2008Wthr...63..194R. doi:10.1002/wea.275.
89. ^ Written records of historical tsunamis in the northeastern South
China Sea
24, 2014.
91. ^ Soloviev, Sergey L.; Solovieva, Olga N.; Go, Chan N.; Kim,
Khen S.; Shchetnikov, Nikolay A. (2000). Tsunamis in the
Mediterranean Sea : 2000 B.C. – 2000 A.D. Dordrecht [u.a.]:
Springer Science & Business. p. 29. ISBN 978-0792365488.
92. ^ Gates, Alexander E.; Ritchie, David (2007). Encyclopedia of
earthquakes and volcanoes (3rd ed.). New York: Facts on File.
p. 291. ISBN 978-0816072705.
93. ^ Oppenheimer, Clive (June 1, 2003). "Climatic, environmental
and human consequences of the largest known historic eruption:
Tambora volcano (Indonesia) 1815". Progress in Physical
Geography: Earth and Environment. 27 (2): 230–
259. doi:10.1191/0309133303pp379ra.
94. ^ "Krakatoa Volcano: Facts About Deadly Eruption". Live Science.
95. ^ "Benchmarks: May 8, 1902: The deadly eruption of Mount
Pelée". Earth Magazine. April 7, 2015. Retrieved February
27,2018.
96. ^ "BBC ON THIS DAY | 13 | 1985: Volcano kills thousands in
Colombia". BBC. November 13, 1985.
97. ^ "Mount Unzen eruption of 1792 | Japanese
history". Encyclopædia Britannica.
98. ^ "What is the largest eruption ever? | Volcano World | Oregon
State University". Volcano World. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
99. ^ "Indonesia's Mount Kelut Erupts : Natural Hazards". NASA.
February 14, 2014.
100. ^ "Galunggung | Volcano World | Oregon State
University". Volcano World. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
External links[edit]
 Natural Hazards Data from NOAA National Geophysical
Data Center
 "When Nature Attacks" from Newsweek
 World's worst natural disasters since 1900
 Earthquake Hazards Program – USGS
 EM-DAT: The International Disaster Database managed
by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of
Disasters
 Disasters Database Report from Emergency
Management Australia
show
Natural disasters · list by death toll
show
Death
Categories:
 Lists of disasters
 Lists by death toll
 Lists of natural disasters
Navigation menu
 Not logged in
 Talk
 Contributions
 Create account
 Log in
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Search
Search Go
 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate to Wikipedia
 Wikipedia store
Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact page
Tools
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Page information
 Wikidata item
 Cite this page
Print/export
 Download as PDF
 Printable version
Languages
 ‫ال عرب ية‬
 Français
 தமிழ்
 తెలుగు
 Türkçe
 Tiếng Việt
 中文
3 more
Edit links
 This page was last edited on 11 May 2020, at 15:19 (UTC).
 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of
Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
 Privacy policy
 About Wikipedia
 Disclaimers
 Contact Wikipedia
 Developers
 Statistics
 Cookie statement
 Mobile view


List of Natural Disasters by Death Toll: Ten Deadliest Natural Disasters Excluding Epidemics and Famines

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

List of Natural Disasters by Death Toll: Ten Deadliest Natural Disasters Excluding Epidemics and Famines

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

List of Natural Disasters by Death Toll: Ten Deadliest Natural Disasters Excluding Epidemics and Famines

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

List of natural disasters by death toll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 1Ten deadliest natural disasters excluding epidemics and famines

Ten deadliest natural disasters excluding epidemics and

1. 4,000,000[2][nb 1] 1931 China floods China July 1931

1887 Yellow River

1556 Shaanxi January 23,

East Pakistan (now November 13,

2010 Haiti January 12,

526 Antioch Byzantine Empire (now

1920 Haiyuan December 16,

10. 229,000 Typhoon Nina China August 7, 1975

Ten deadliest natural disasters since 1900 excluding

1. 400,000–4,000,000 1931 China floods China July 1931

East Pakistan (now November

5. 242,769–655,000 1976 Tangshan earthquake China July 28, 1976

Typhoon Nina—contributed August 7,

2004 Indian Ocean December 26,

8. 145,000 1935 Yangtze river flood China 1935

1923 Great Kantō September 1,

Deadliest natural disasters by year[edit]

Philippines, Vietnam, November

100,000- 2010 Haiti

2009 Sumatra September

France, Portugal, United

2002 Indian heat

Tropical Storm Tropical cyclone, November

1996 Andhra November

1994 Paez river

1993 Latur September

Typhoon Gay November

Lists of natural disasters by cause[edit]

 Note that the 893 Ardabil earthquake is a 'phantom',

242,769– 1976 Tangshan

1920 Haiyuan Ningxia, Republic of December 16,

250,000– 526 Antioch Byzantine

2004 Indian December 26,

1303 Hongdong September 17,

1923 Great Kantō September 1,

533 Aleppo November 29,

1908 Messina December 28,

1948 Ashgabat Turkmen SSR, Soviet

1290 Chihli September 27,

458 Antioch Byzantine

1667 Shamakhi Safavid

1727 Tabriz November 18,

1033 Ramala Fatimid Caliphate (now West December 10,

587 Antioch Byzantine September 30,

1101 Khorasan Great Seljuq

1268 Cilicia Armenian Kingdom of

1935 Quetta British India (now part

844 Damascus September 18,

1042 Tabriz November 4,

1755 Lisbon November 1,

856 Corinth Byzantine

856 Tunisia Abbasid

1797 Riobamba Spanish

Rank Death toll Event Location Date