List of natural disasters by death toll

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Further information: List of wars and disasters by death toll

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

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

Some events overlap categories.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Contents

[edit] Ten deadliest natural disasters

Rank Event Location Date Death Toll (Estimate)
1. 1931 Yellow River flood Yellow River, China Summer 1931 850,000-4,000,000
2. 1887 Yellow River flood Yellow River, China September-October 1887 900,000-2,000,000
3. 1970 Bhola cyclone Ganges Delta, East Pakistan November 13, 1970 500,000-1,000,000
4. 1201 Earthquake Eastern Mediterranean 1201 1,000,000
5. 1938 Yellow River flood Yellow River, China June 9, 1938 500,000 - 900,000
6. Shaanxi Earthquake Shaanxi Province, China January 23, 1556 830,000
7. 1839 India Cyclone Coringa, India November 25, 1839 300,000+
8. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami Indian Ocean December 26, 2004 225,000-275,000
9. 1642 Kaifeng Flood Kaifeng, Henan Province, China 1642 300,000
10. Tangshan Earthquake Tangshan, China July 28, 1976 242,000*

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

[edit] Earthquakes

Death Toll Event Location Date
830,000 Shaanxi earthquake China 1556
287,000 Indian Ocean earthquake & tsunamis outside Indonesia 2004
255,000 Tangshan earthquake China 1976
230,000 Aleppo earthquake Syria 1138
200,000 Gansu earthquake China 1920
200,000 Xining earthquake China 1927
200,000 Damghan earthquake Iran 856
150,000 Ardabil earthquake Iran 893
140,000 Great Kantō earthquake Japan 1923
110,000 Ashgabat earthquake Turkmenistan 1948
100,000 Messina earthquake Italy 1908
100,000 1755 Lisbon earthquake Portugal 1755
100,000 Chihli earthquake China 1290
87,000+ (still rising) 2005 Kashmir earthquake Pakistan, India 2005
80,000 Shemakha earthquake Caucasus 1667
77,000 Tabriz earthquake Iran 1727
70,000 Gansu earthquake China 1932
66,000 Ancash earthquake Peru 1970
60,000 Sicily earthquake Sicily 1693
60,000 Quetta earthquake British India 1935
50,000 Calabria earthquake Italy 1783
50,000 Iran earthquake Iran 1990
31,000–41,000 Bam earthquake Iran 2003
32,700 Erzincan earthquake Turkey 1939
25,000 Spitak Earthquake Armenia 1988
23,000 Guatemala earthquake Guatemala 1976
20,000 Gujarat earthquake India 2001
20,000 Valparaíso earthquake Chile 1960
17,118 Izmit earthquake Turkey 1999
15,621 Tonghai earthquake China 1970
11,000 Naples earthquake Italy 1857
10,700 Bihar earthquake India 1934
10,000 Agadir earthquake Morocco 1960
9,748 Latur, India earthquake India 1993
9,500 Michoacán earthquake Mexico 1985
6,433 Great Hanshin earthquake Kobe, Japan 1995
6,234 May 2006 Java earthquake Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2006
3,276 Hsinchu-Taichung earthquake Taiwan 1935
3,000 1906 San Francisco earthquake California 1906
2,400 Chi-Chi earthquake Taiwan 1999
2,914 Irpinia Italy 1980
1,570 Romania earthquake Romania 1977
1,100 Skopje earthquake Yugoslavia 1963
1,266 Meishan earthquake Taiwan 1905
1,000 Friuli earthquake Italy 1976
1,084 Luzon earthquake Philippines 1990
571 Morocco earthquake Al Hoceima Province 2004
564 Zarand Iran 2005
258 Napier earthquake New Zealand 1931
131 Good Friday Earthquake Alaska 1964
115 Long Beach earthquake of 1933 California 1933
66 Loma Prieta earthquake California 1989
65+ Sylmar earthquake California 1971
57 Northridge earthquake California 1994
27 1872 Lone Pine earthquake California 1872
13 Newcastle earthquake Australia 1989

[edit] Notes

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

[edit] References

[edit] Volcanic Eruptions

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

[edit] Notes

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

[edit] References

[edit] Tsunamis

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

[edit] Limnic Eruptions

Death Toll Event Location Date
1,800 Lake Nyos Cameroon 1986
37 Lake Monoun Cameroon 1984

[edit] Extreme Weather

[edit] Heatwaves

Death Toll Event Location Date
35,000 European Heat Wave of 2003 Europe 2003
1,250 - 10,000 1980 United States heat wave United States 1980
4,000 heat waves in Texas, Middle East and India 1998
739 Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 Chicago 1995
437 Southern regions, Australia 1895-1896 Australia 1895-1896
271 heat waves in Midwest and Northeast 1999

[edit] Hail

Death Toll Event Location Date
'several hundred' Roopkund, Uttaranchal India eighth century
246 Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh India 1888
25 Henan Province China 2002

[edit] Smog

Death Toll Event Location Date
4,000 Great Smog of 1952 United Kingdom 1952


[edit] Storms

Death Toll Event Location Date
15,000 torrential rains and mudslides Venezuela 1999
669 (and 695 missing) heavy storms ("Winnie") Philippines 2004
250+ Great Lakes Storm of 1913 Great Lakes basin region 1913


[edit] Lightning Strikes

Death Toll Event Location Date
81 lightning struck Boeing 707 airliner near Elkton, Maryland 1963

[edit] Tornadoes

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

[edit] Cyclones, Hurricanes and Typhoons

Death Toll Event Location Date
500,000 Bhola cyclone Bangladesh 1970
300,000 India cyclone Coringa 1839
300,000 cyclone Haiphong Vietnam 1881
229,000 Super Typhoon Nina - contributed to Banqiao Dam failure China 1975
138,000 1991 Bangladesh cyclone Chittagong Bangladesh 1991
60,000 typhoon China 1922
60,000 1864 Calcutta cyclone India 1864
50,000 typhoon China 1912
40,000 cyclone India 1942
30,000 cyclone Bangladesh June 1, 1965
22,000 Great Hurricane of 1780 Barbados, Martinique, St. Eustatius 1780
22,000 cyclone Pakistan 1963
20,000 cyclone India 1977
18,277 Hurricane Mitch Central America 1998
17,000 cyclone Bangladesh May 11, 1965
10,000 cyclone Karachi, Pakistan 1965
10,000 cyclone in Orissa India 1999
10,000 typhoon Hong Kong 1906
9,574 cyclone India 1999
8,000 Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Texas United States September 8, 1900
8,000 hurricane Dominican Republic 1930
8,000 Hurricane Fifi Honduras 1974
7,200 Hurricane Flora Haiti Cuba 1963
6,000 Typhoon Thelma Philippines 1991
6,000 cyclone Pakistan 1960
5,000 Typhoon Vera Japan 1958
4,170 Newfoundland Hurricane U.S., Newfoundland 1775
4,075+ Lake Okeechobee Hurricane U.S. 1928
4,000 hurricane Canada 1775
3,433 hurricane Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic 1899
3,107 hurricane Cuba 1932
3,037 Hurricane Jeanne Haiti 2004
3,000 hurricane Atlantic Ocean 1782
3,000 hurricane Cuba 1791
3,000 1737 Calcutta cyclone India 1737
2,500 cyclone Andhra Pradesh 1996
2,334 Typhoon Iris China 1959
2,150 hurricane Caribbean 1935
2,060 Hurricane David Dominican Republic, U.S. 1979
2,000-3,000 hurricane Central America 1934
2,000 hurricane Gulf of Mexico 1780
2,000 hurricane Florida 1781
2,000 hurricane Cuba, Florida 1870
2,000 Chenier Caminada Hurricane Louisiana 1893
1,836 not including the 705 missing Hurricane Katrina United States 2005
1,620 Hurricane Stan Mexico, Central America 2005
1,600 Typhoon Mary China 1960
1,500-2,500 hurricane Windward Islands 1831
1,500-2,500 hurricane Central America 1931
1,500 hurricane Greater Antilles, Mexico 1909
1,300 Typhoon Ike Philippines 1984
1,200 Hurricane Hazel Grenada, Bahamas, Haiti, U.S., Canada 1954
1,145 Hurricane Gordon Haiti, U.S. 1994
1,115 hurricane Jamaica, Cuba 1780
1,000-2,000 Sea Islands Hurricane Georgia, South Carolina 1893
1,000 Hurricane Inez Greater Antilles, Mexico 1966
1,000 cyclone India 1998
921 hurricane Greater Antilles, Mexico 1888
709 hurricane Cuba 1926
700 hurricane Georgia 1881
700 hurricane Greater Antilles 1891
600-700 hurricane U.S. 1788
682 New England Hurricane of 1938 U.S. 1938
602 Hurricane Georges Greater Antilles 1998
600 hurricane Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Texas 1919
600 Hurricane Fox (Cuba 1952
540-680 Hurricane Janet (Honduras, Mexico 1955
424 hurricane North Carolina 1857
408 Labor Day Hurricane Florida 1935
400 Last Island Hurricane (Louisiana 1856
400 Cyclone Mahina Australia 1899
400 Hurricane Hattie Belize 1961
400 hurricane Texas 1915
399-550 Hurricane Audrey Louisiana 1957
390 hurricane U.S. 1944
387 hurricane U.S. 1866
383 hurricane Windward Islands 1898
364 Hurricane Donna (every U.S. state on east coast 1960
350 hurricane Louisiana 1909
318 Hurricane Gilbert Jamaica and Mexico 1988
265-350 Great Miami Hurricane Florida, Louisiana 1926
256 Hurricane Camille U.S. 1969
228 Hurricane Allen Caribbean U.S. 1980
217 Hurricane Cleo Caribbean and Florida 1964
216 Hurricane Joan (Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador 1988
200 Hurricane Hilda Mexico 1955
200 Hurricane Diane North Carolina 1955
122 Hurricane Agnes Eastern United States 1972
120 Hurricane Ivan Caribbean, Alabama, Florida 2004
113 Hurricane Rita Florida, Mississippi, Texas 2005
96 Hurricane Diana Mexico 1990
96 Typhoon Nari Taiwan 2001
86 Hurricane Hugo Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina 1989
80 Hurricane Eloise Hispaniola and Eastern United States 1975
76 Hurricane Betsy Louisiana 1965
72 Typhoon Toraji Taiwan 2001
71 Cyclone Tracy Australia 1974
62 Hurricane Andrew Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana 1992
60 Hurricane Carol New England 1954
59 Hurricane Beulah Texas 1967
59 Hurricane Opal Guatemala, Mexico, Florida 1995
57 Hurricane Floyd Bahamas, North Carolina 1999
51 Hurricane Cesar Nicaragua, Central America, Colombia ,Venezuela 1996
51 Typhoon Herb Taiwan 1996
45 1939 Long Beach Tropical Storm California 1939
43 Hurricane Celia Texas 1970
42 Hurricane Hortense Leeward Islands 1996
41 Tropical Storm Allison Texas 2001
40 Hurricane Isabel North Carolina 2003
38 Hurricane Hilda Louisiana 1964
35 Hurricane Charley Jamaica, Cuba, Florida 2004
34 Hurricane Fran North Carolina 1996

[edit] References

[edit] Floods and Landslides

Death Toll Event Location Date
1,000,000–3,700,000 1931 Huang He flood China 1931
900,000–2,000,000 1887 Huang He flood China 1887
500,000-900,000 1938 Huang He flood China 1938
231,000 Banqiao Dam failure. Approximately 86,000 people died from flooding and another 145,000 died during subsequent epidemics. China 1975.
145,000 1935 Yangtze river flood China 1935
100,000 flood North Vietnam 1971
100,000 1911 Yangtze river flood China 1911
30,000 1954 Yangtze river flood China 1954
25,000–? Grote Mandrenke, storm tide Netherlands, Germany, Denmark 1362
10,000 Great Iran Flood Iran 1954
2,200 Johnstown Flood Pennsylvania 1889
2,142 North Sea flood of 1953 storm surge (Netherlands, United Kingdom 1953
2,000–5,000 some reports list as many as 12,000 dead Manchhu River dam burst (Morvi, Gujarat, India 1979
1,909 Vajont Dam landslide and flood Italy 1963
1,800 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide Philippines (2006
1,605–3,363 spring flooding in Haiti and Dominican Republic 2004
1,000 Mumbai (Bombay) and the surrounding state Maharashtra India 26 July 2005
400 St. Francis Dam failure California 1928
315 North Sea flood of 1962 storm tide Germany 1962
270 Great Sheffield flood dam disaster England 1864
94 Mameyes Disaster lanslide Ponce, Puerto Rico 1985
81 Holmfirth Flood - Bilberry Reservoir dam failure West Yorkshire, England 1852
78 Austin Dam failure Pennsylvania 1911
70 New Orleans dike failure Louisiana 2005
47 McDonald Dam failure Austin, Texas 1900
16 Brisbane flood Australia 1974

[edit] Wildfires, Bushfires

Death Toll Event Location Date
418 Hinckley Fire Minnesota, United States 1894
250+ Thumb Fire Michigan, United States 1881
160 Miramichi Fire, New Brunswick Canada 1825
75 Ash Wednesday[1] Southern Australia 1983
71 Black Friday Victoria, Australia 1939
62 1967 Tasmanian fires Tasmania, Australia 1967
60 SE Victoria (incl Gippsland & Dandenongs) Bushfire [2] Victoria, Australia 1926

[edit] References

And what about the several hundred millions deathes caused by malaria throughout the centuries ???

[edit] Blizzards

Death Toll Event Location Date
4,000 Iran 1972
400 Great Blizzard of '88 Northeastern United States 1888
318 1993 North American Storm Complex Northeastern United States 1993
235 Schoolhouse Blizzard Great Plains, USA 1888
144 Armistice Day Blizzard Midwest, USA 1940
54 Blizzard of '78 Northeastern United States 1978
29 Blizzard of 1977 Buffalo, New York, USA 1977

[edit] Contractible Diseases

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

[edit] Famine

Please Note: Some of these famines may be partially or completely caused by humans.
Death Toll Event Location Date
1,000,000–43,000,000 Period of Three Difficult Years (most estimates are between 20 and 30 million) (China 1958 - 1961) * 24,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1907
5,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1936 China 1936
5,000,000 Holodomor USSR 1932-1934
5,000,000 Ukraine and Volga Famine USSR 1921-1922
3,000,000 Chinese Drought 1941 China 1941
3,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1928-1930 China 1928 - 1930
3,000,000 Indian Drought of 1900 India 1900
1,500,000 - 3,000,000 Bengal Famine of 1943 India 1943
1,500,000 Indian Drought of 1965-1967 India 1965 - 1967
1,200,000 North Korean famine North Korea 1995 - 1998
1,100,000 Irish potato famine Ireland 1846-1849
1,000,000 Ethopian famine Ethopia 1984
150,000 Finnish famine of 1866-1868 Finnland 1866-1868
30,000 Dutch famine of 1944 The Netherlands 1944


[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../l/i/s/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll.html"