List of natural disasters by death toll

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For man-made disasters see: 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.

Ten deadliest natural disasters

Rank Event Location Date Death Toll (Estimate)
1. 1931 Yellow River flood  China summer 1931 1,000,000-2,000,000
2. 1887 Yellow River flood  China 1887, September-October 900,000-2,000,000
3. 1970 Bhola cyclone East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh) 1970, November 13 500,000-1,000,000
4. 1556 Shaanxi earthquake  China 1556, January 23 830,000
5. 1839 India Cyclone  India 1839, November 25 300,000+
6. 1642 Kaifeng Flood  China 1642 300,000
7. 1976 Tangshan earthquake  China 1976, July 28 242,000*
8. Banqiao Dam failure  China 1975 231,000
9. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami Indian Ocean 2004, December 26 230,000
10. 1138 Aleppo earthquake  Syria 1138 230,000

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

Earthquakes

Death Toll Event Location Date
$830,000 Shaanxi earthquake  China 1556
$255,000 Tangshan earthquake  China 1976
$230,000 Indian Ocean earthquake & tsunamis Indian Ocean 2004
$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 Kanto 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
$87,350 2005 Kashmir earthquake  Pakistan,  India 2005
$80,000 Shemakha earthquake  Azerbaijan 1667
$77,000 Tabriz earthquake  Iran 1727
$70,000 Gansu earthquake  China 1932
$66,000 Ancash earthquake  Peru 1970
$60,000 Sicily earthquake  Italy 1693
$60,000 Quetta earthquake British India 1935
$50,000 Calabria earthquake  Italy 1783
$50,000 Iran earthquake  Iran 1990
$26,271 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
$15,000 Agadir earthquake  Morocco 1960
$11,000 Naples earthquake  Italy 1857
$10,700 Bihar earthquake  India 1934
$9,748 Latur, India earthquake  India 1993
$9,500 Michoacán earthquake  Mexico 1985
$6,433 Great Hanshin earthquake  Japan (Kobe) 1995
$6,234 May 2006 Java earthquake  Indonesia (Yogyakarta) 2006
$3,276 Hsinchu-Taichung earthquake  Taiwan 1935
$3,000 1906 San Francisco earthquake  United States (California) 1906
$2,400 Chi-Chi earthquake  Taiwan 1999
$2,914 Irpinia  Italy 1980
$2,040 Neftegorsk  Russia (Sakhalin) 1995
$1,800 1999 Armenia earthquake  Colombia 1999
$1,570 Romania earthquake  Romania 1977
$1,500 Skopje earthquake Macedonia 1963
$1,266 Meishan earthquake  Taiwan 1905
$1,000 Friuli earthquake  Italy 1976
$1,084 1990 Luzon earthquake  Philippines 1990
$600 Tumaco Earthquake  Colombia 1979
$571 Morocco earthquake  Morocco 2004
$564 Zarand  Iran 2005
$510 2007 Peru earthquake  Peru 2007
$400 Düzce earthquake  Turkey 1999
$258 Napier earthquake  New Zealand 1931
$131 Good Friday Earthquake  United States (Alaska) 1964
$115 Long Beach earthquake of 1933  United States (California) 1933
$65+ Sylmar earthquake  United States (California) 1971
$64 Loma Prieta earthquake  United States (California) 1989
$57 Northridge earthquake  United States (California) 1994
$27 1872 Lone Pine earthquake  United States (California) 1872
$13 Newcastle earthquake  Australia 1989

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 Mount Kelut  Indonesia 1586
$9,350 Laki  Iceland 1783
$6,000 Santa Maria  Guatemala 1902
$5,115 Mount Kelut  Indonesia 1912
$4,000 Mount Galunggung  Indonesia 1822
$3,600 Mount Vesuvius Roman Empire 79
$3,500 El Chichón  Mexico 1982
$2,000 Tseax River Cone  Canada 1730 ± 150 years
$1,680 Soufrière St. Vincent 1902
$1,000 Cotopaxi  Ecuador 1887
$700 Mount Pinatubo  Philippines 1991
$245 Nyiragongo  Democratic Republic of the Congo 2002
$152 Mt Ruapehu, Tangiwai  New Zealand 1953
$120 Mount Tarawera  New Zealand 1886
$57 Mount St. Helens  United States (Washington) 1980

Notes

A supervolcano that occurred at Lake Toba around 74,000 years ago is thought to have wiped out approximately 99 percent of the global human population, reducing the population from at most 60 million to less than 10 thousand; 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. See Also La Garita Caldera and Supervolcanoes

References

Tsunamis

See Historic tsunami for more detailed information.
Death Toll Event Location Date
$230,000 Indian Ocean earthquake with tsunami Indian Ocean 2004
$100,000 1755 Lisbon earthquake, tsunami, earthquake and fire  Portugal,  Morocco and  United Kingdom (Cornwall) 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 Tokaido-Nankaido  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 Ryukyu Trench 1771
$5,233 Tokaido-Kashima  Japan 1703
$5,000 Nankaido  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  Chile,  United States (Hawaii),  Philippines and  Japan 1960
$2,000 Bristol Channel, possible tsunami  United Kingdom 1607
$540 Java earthquake  Indonesia 2006
$173 Aleutian Island earthquake  United States (Alaska) and (Hawaii) 1946
$131 Good Friday Earthquake  United States (Alaska) and (Hawaii) 1964
$52 8.1 Magnitude Earthquake  Solomon Islands 2007
$46  United States (Hawaii) 1868
28 1929 Grand Banks earthquake Placentia Bay  Canada (Newfoundland) 1929
$23 Nice  France 1979

Limnic Eruptions

Death Toll Event Location Date
$1,746 Lake Nyos  Cameroon 1986
$37 Lake Monoun  Cameroon 1984

Extreme Weather

Heat waves

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
739 Chicago Heat Wave of 1995  United States (Chicago, Illinois) 1995
437 Southern regions, Australia 1895-1896  Australia 1895-1896

Hail

Death Toll Event Location Date
200-600 Roopkund, Uttaranchal  India 9th century
246 Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh  India 1888
25 Henan Province  China 2002


Storms (Non cyclone)

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  United States and  Canada (Great Lakes region) 1913

Tornadoes

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

Cyclones, Hurricanes and Typhoons

Death Toll Event Location Date
500,000 500,000 Bhola cyclone  Bangladesh 1970
300,000 300,000 cyclone  India 1839
300,000 300,000 cyclone  Vietnam 1881
229,000 229,000 Super Typhoon Nina - contributed to Banqiao Dam failure  China 1975
138,000 138,000 1991 Bangladesh cyclone  Bangladesh 1991
060,000 60,000 typhoon  China 1922
060,000 60,000 1864 Calcutta cyclone  India 1864
050,000 50,000 typhoon  China 1912
040,000 40,000 cyclone  India 1942
030,000 30,000 cyclone  Bangladesh 1965
022,000 22,000 Great Hurricane of 1780  Barbados,  Martinique, Sint Eustatius 1780
022,000 22,000 cyclone  Pakistan 1963
020,000 20,000 cyclone  India 1977
018,277 18,277 Hurricane Mitch  Honduras,  Nicaragua 1998
017,000 17,000 cyclone  Bangladesh 1965
010,000 10,000 cyclone  Pakistan 1965
010,000 10,000 cyclone  India 1999
010,000 10,000 typhoon  Hong Kong 1906
009,574 9,574 cyclone  India 1999
008,000 8,000 Galveston Hurricane of 1900  United States (Texas) 1900
008,000 8,000 Hurricane San Zenón  Dominican Republic 1930
008,000 8,000 Hurricane Fifi  Honduras 1974
007,200 7,200 Hurricane Flora  Haiti,  Cuba 1963
006,000 6,000 Tropical Storm Thelma  Philippines 1991
006,000 6,000 cyclone  Pakistan 1960
005,000 5,000 Typhoon Vera  Japan 1958
004,170 4,170 Newfoundland Hurricane  Canada,  United States 1775
004,075 4,075+ Lake Okeechobee Hurricane  United States,  Bahamas 1928
003,433 3,433 hurricane  Puerto Rico,  Dominican Republic 1899
003,107 3,107 hurricane  Cuba 1932
003,037 3,037 Hurricane Jeanne  Haiti 2004
003,000 3,000 hurricane Atlantic Ocean 1782
003,000 3,000 hurricane  Cuba 1791
003,000 3,000 1737 Calcutta cyclone  India 1737
002,500 2,500 Great Caribbean Hurricane Caribbean,  Cuba,  United States 1831
002,500 2,500 Sea Islands Hurricane  United States (Georgia, South Carolina) 1893
002,500 2,500 hurricane  Belize 1931
002,500 2,500 cyclone  India 1996
002,334 2,334 Typhoon Iris  China 1959
002,150 2,150 hurricane Caribbean 1935
002,060 2,060 Hurricane David  Dominican Republic,  United States 1979
002,000 2,000-3,000 1934 Central America Hurricane  Belize,  Guatemala 1934
002,000 2,000 hurricane Gulf of Mexico 1780
002,000 2,000 hurricane  United States (Florida) 1781
002,000 2,000 hurricane  Cuba,  United States (Florida) 1870
002,000 2,000 Chenier Caminada Hurricane  United States (Louisiana) 1893
001,836 1,836+ Hurricane Katrina  United States (Louisiana, Mississippi) 2005
001,620 1,620 Hurricane Stan  Mexico,  Guatemala 2005
001,600 1,600 Typhoon Mary  China 1960
001,500 1,500 hurricane  Dominican Republic,  Cuba,  Mexico 1909
001,300 1,300 Typhoon Ike  Philippines 1984
001,200 1,200 Hurricane Hazel  Grenada,  Bahamas,  Haiti,  United States,  Canada 1954
001,145 1,145 Hurricane Gordon  Haiti,  United States 1994
001,115 1,115 hurricane Gilbert  Jamaica,  Cuba 1780
001,000 1,000 Hurricane Inez  Guadeloupe,  Mexico 1966
001,000 1,000 cyclone  India 1998
000,921 921 hurricane Greater Antilles,  Mexico 1888
000,709 709 hurricane  Cuba 1926
000,700 700 hurricane  United States (Georgia) 1881
000,700 700 hurricane Greater Antilles 1891
000,682 682 New England Hurricane of 1938  United States 1938
000,602 602 Hurricane Georges Greater Antilles 1998
000,600 600 hurricane  United States (Florida, Gulf Coast States) 1919
000,600 600 Hurricane Fox  Cuba 1952
000,538 538-680 Hurricane Janet  Honduras,  Mexico 1955
000,424 424 hurricane  United States (North Carolina) 1857
000,408 408 Labor Day Hurricane  United States (Florida) 1935
000,400 400 Last Island Hurricane  United States (Louisiana) 1856
000,400 400 Cyclone Mahina  Australia 1899
000,400 400 Hurricane Hattie  Belize 1961
000,400 400 hurricane  United States (Texas) 1915
000,399 399-550 Hurricane Audrey  United States (Louisiana) 1957
000,390 390 hurricane  United States 1944
000,387 387 hurricane  United States 1866
000,383 383 hurricane Windward Islands 1898
000,364 364 Hurricane Donna Caribbean,  Bahamas, United States 1960
000,350 350 hurricane  United States (Louisiana) 1909
000,318 318 Hurricane Gilbert  Jamaica,  Mexico 1988
000,265 265-350 Great Miami Hurricane  United States 1926
000,256 256 Hurricane Camille  United States 1969
000,228 228 Hurricane Allen Caribbean,  United States 1980
000,217 217 Hurricane Cleo Caribbean,  United States 1964
000,216 216 Hurricane Joan  Colombia,  Venezuela,  Costa Rica,  Nicaragua,  El Salvador 1988
000,200 200 Hurricane Hilda  Mexico 1955
000,200 200 Hurricane Diane  United States (North Carolina) 1955
000,122 122 Hurricane Agnes  United States 1972
000,120 120 Hurricane Ivan Caribbean,  United States 2004
000,113 113 Hurricane Rita  United States 2005
000,096 96 Hurricane Diana  Mexico 1990
000,096 96 Typhoon Nari  Taiwan 2001
000,086 86 Hurricane Hugo Leeward Islands,  Puerto Rico,  United States 1989
000,080 80 Hurricane Eloise  Dominican Republic,  Haiti,  United States 1975
000,076 76 Hurricane Betsy  United States 1965
000,072 72 Typhoon Toraji  Taiwan 2001
000,071 71 Cyclone Tracy  Australia 1974
000,062 62 Hurricane Andrew  Bahamas,  United States 1992
000,060 60 Hurricane Carol  United States 1954
000,059 59 Hurricane Beulah  United States 1967
000,059 59 Hurricane Opal  Guatemala,  Mexico,  United States 1995
000,057 57 Hurricane Floyd  Bahamas,  United States 1999
000,051 51 Hurricane Cesar  Nicaragua,  Colombia,  Venezuela 1996
000,051 51 Typhoon Herb  Taiwan 1996
000,050 50 Hurricane Isabel  United States 2003
000,045 45 1939 Long Beach Tropical Storm  United States (California) 1939
000,043 43 Hurricane Celia  United States 1970
000,042 42 Hurricane Hortense Leeward Islands 1996
000,041 41 Tropical Storm Allison  United States 2001
000,038 38 Hurricane Hilda  United States 1964
000,035 35 Hurricane Charley  Jamaica,  Cuba,  United States 2004
000,034 34 Hurricane Fran  United States 1996

References

Floods and Landslides

Death Toll Event Location Date
1,000,000–3,700,000 1931 Yellow River (Huang He) flood  China 1931
900,000–2,000,000 1887 Yellow River (Huang He) flood  China 1887
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
30,000-50,000 1999 Vargas Mudslide  Venezuela 1999
25,000–? Grote Mandrenke, storm tide  Netherlands,  Germany,  Denmark 1362
8,000-15,000 Burchardi flood  Germany,  Denmark 1634
10,000 Great Iran Flood  Iran 1954
2,200 Johnstown Flood  United States (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 Morvi dam burst  India (Morvi, Gujarat) 1979
1,909 Vajont Dam landslide and flood  Italy 1963
1,800 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide  Philippines 2006
1,605–3,363 spring flooding  Haiti,  Dominican Republic 2004
1,000 Mumbai (Bombay) and the surrounding state Maharashtra  India 2005
421 Malpasset Dam failure  France 1959
400 St. Francis Dam failure  United States (California) 1928
385 Ohio River flood of 1937  United States (Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois) 1937
315 North Sea flood of 1962 storm tide  Germany 1962
270 Great Sheffield flood dam disaster  United Kingdom 1864
268 Val di Stava dam dam disaster  Italy 1985
238 Rapid City, South Dakota flood  United States 1972
159 Sarno flood and landslide  Italy 1998
144 Aberfan disaster  United Kingdom (Wales) 1966
94 Mameyes Disaster  Puerto Rico (Ponce) 1985
over 90 Columbus, Ohio flood on March 25, 1913  United States 1913
81 Holmfirth Flood - Bilberry Reservoir dam failure  United Kingdom 1852
78 Austin Dam failure  United States 1911
70 New Orleans dike failure  United States 2005
55 Flood of the millennium  Poland 1997
47 McDonald Dam failure  United Kingdom 1900
16 Brisbane flood  Australia 1974
11 2007 United Kingdom floods  United Kingdom 2007

Wildfires, Bushfires

Death Toll Event Location Date
$1,200-2,500 Peshtigo Fire, Wisconsin  United States 1871
$453 Cloquet Fire, Minnesota  United States 1918
$418 Hinckley Fire, Minnesota  United States 1894
$250+ Thumb Fire, Michigan  United States 1881
$200 - 250 Matheson Fire, Ontario  Canada 1916
$160 Miramichi Fire, New Brunswick  Canada 1825
$75 Ash Wednesday [1]  Australia 1983
$71 Black Friday (1939)  Australia (Victoria) 1939
$64 2007 Greek forest fires  Greece 2007
$62 1967 Tasmanian fires  Australia (Tasmania) 1967
$60 SE Victoria (incl Gippsland & Dandenongs) Bushfire [2]  Australia (Victoria) 1926

References

Blizzards

Death Toll Event Location Date
$4,000 Iran Blizzard  Iran 1972
$400 Great Blizzard of 1888  United States 1888
$318 1993 North American Storm Complex  United States 1993
$235 Schoolhouse Blizzard  United States 1888
$144 Armistice Day Blizzard  United States 1940
$54 Blizzard of 1978  United States 1978
$29 Blizzard of 1977  United States 1977

Contractible Diseases

Death Toll Event Location Date
300,000,000+ Smallpox Worldwide 20th century alone
300,000,000+ Bubonic Plague: Black Death Asia, Europe, Africa 1300s-1720s;
Bubonic Plague: Plague of Justinian Asia, Europe, Africa 540-590
Bubonic Plague: Third Pandemic Worldwide 1850s-1950s
80,000,000 - 250,000,000 Malaria Worldwide 20th century to present
40,000,000 - 100,000,000 Tuberculosis Worldwide 20th century to present
20,000,000 - 100,000,000 Spanish Flu Worldwide 1918 - 1919
25,250,000 AIDS Worldwide 1981 - present
5,000,000 Antonine Plague Roman Empire 165 - 180
4,000,000 Asian Flu pandemic Worldwide 1957
750,000 Hong Kong Flu pandemic Worldwide 1968
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

Famine

Please Note: Some of these famines may be partially or completely caused by humans.
Death Toll Event Location Date
20,000,000–43,000,000 Period of Three Difficult Years  China 1958 - 1961
24,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1907  China 1907
19,000,000 Indian Famine  India 1896-1902
13,000,000 Northern Chinese Famine  China 1876-1879
10,000,000 Southern Indian Famine  India 1876-1879
7,500,000 Great European Famine  Europe 1315-1317
5,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1936  China 1936
5,000,000 Holodomor  Ukraine 1932-1934
5,000,000 Ukraine and Volga Famine  Ukraine 1921-1922
3,000,000 Chinese Drought 1941  China 1941
3,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1928-1930  China 1928 - 1930
1,100,000 Great Irish Famine  Ireland 1846-1849
2,000,000 Vietnamese War Famine  Vietnam 1943-1945
1,500,000 - 3,000,000 Bengal Famine of 1943  India 1943
1,200,000 North Korean famine  North Korea 1996 - 1998
1,000,000 Ethiopian famine  Ethiopia 1984
1,000,000 Horn of Africa famine  Ethiopia,  Sudan,  Somalia 1888
150,000 Finnish famine of 1866-1868  Finland 1866-1868
30,000 Dutch famine of 1944  The Netherlands 1944
26,000 Bangladesh famine of 1974- Official records claim 26,000 death toll. However, various sources claim the death toll to be about a million.  Bangladesh 1974
25,000 Great Xhosa Cattle Killing  South Africa 1864

Footnotes

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll&oldid=168652216"