List of anthropogenic 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 incidents. Most numbers are estimates and are often in dispute. The incidents are ranked by the highest estimate given.

Some events overlap categories.

Deaths caused by humans

War and military action

These figures include deaths of civilians from diseases, famine, and atrocities as well as deaths of soldiers in battle.

62,000,000 - World War II (1937–1945), (see World War II casualties)
36,000,000 - An Lushan Rebellion (756–763)
30,000,000–60,000,000 - Mongol Conquests (13th century)
25,000,000 - Manchu Conquest of Ming China (1616–1644)
20,000,000–50,000,000 - Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864)
17,000,000 - Timur Lenk's conquests (1370–1405)
15,000,000–66,000,000 - World War I (1914–1918) (see World War I casualties) note that the larger number includes Spanish flu deaths
10,000,000-25,000,000 - Second Sino-Japanese War (1931–1945)
5,000,000–9,000,000 - Russian Civil War (1917–1921)
3,800,000 - Second Congo War (1998–2004)
3,500,000–6,000,000 - Napoleonic Wars (1804–1815) (see Napoleonic Wars casualties)
3,000,000–8,000,000 - Thirty Years War (1618–1648)
2,500,000–3,500,000 - Korean War (1950–1953)
2,300,000–3,100,000 - Vietnam War (entire war 1945–1975)
- 300,000–1,300,000 - First Indochina War (1945–1954)
- 100,000–300,000 - Vietnamese Civil War (1954–1960)
- 1,750,000–2,100,000 - American phase (1960–1973)
- 170,000 - Final phase (1973–1975)
- 175,000–1,150,000 - Secret War (1962–1975)
2,000,000–4,000,000 - French Wars of Religion (1562–1598)
1,700,000–2,300,000 - Khmer Rouge (1975–1979)
1,500,000–2,000,000 - Afghanistan (1979–2001)
- 1,000,000–1,500,000 Soviet invasion (1979–1989)
1,300,000–6,100,000 - Chinese Civil War (1928–1949) note that this figure excludes World War II casualties
- 300,000–3,100,000 before 1937
- 1,000,000–3,000,000 after World War II
1,000,000–1,200,000 - Seven Years' War (1756–1763)
1,000,000 - Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988)
1,000,000 - Sudanese Civil War (1983–2002)
1,000,000 - Biafran War (1967–1970)
1,000,000 - Aztec conquests (1427–1519)
900,000–1,000,000 - Mozambique Civil War (1976–1993)
800,000 - Congo Civil War (1991–1997)
558,052 - American Civil War (1861–1865)
550,000 - Somali Civil War (1988 - )
500,000 - Angolan Civil War (1975–2002)
500,000 - Ugandan Civil War (1979–1986)
400,000–1,000,000 - War of the Triple Alliance in Paraguay (1864–1870)
360,000–1,000,000 - Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
300,000 - First Burundi Civil War (1972)
300,000–3,000,000 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War
300,000–2,000,000 - Mexican Revolution (1910–1920)
278,000 - 1992-1995 war in Bosnia
270,000–300,000 - Crimean War (1854–1856)
230,000–1,400,000 - Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991)
220,000 - Liberian Civil War (1989 - )
200,000–800,000 - Warlord era in China (1917–1928)
200,000 - Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2000)
200,000 - Guatemaltec Civil War (1960–1996)
190,000 - Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871)
150,000 - Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990)
150,000 - North Yemen Civil War (1962–1970)
150,000 - Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
120,000 - Algerian Civil War (1991 - )
100,500 - Chaco War (1932–1935)
100,000 - Gulf War (1991)
100,000–1,000,000 - Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962)
75,000 - Ethiopia–Eritrea War (1998–2000)
75,000 - El Salvador Civil War (1980–1992)
75,000 - Second Boer War (1898–1902)
69,000 - Peru/Shining Path conflict (1980 - )
60,000 - Sri Lanka/Tamil conflict (1983-)
35,000 - Finnish Civil War (1918)
30,000–100,000 - American led invasion and occupation of Iraq (2003 - )
30,000 - Turkey/PKK conflict (1984 - )
30,000 - Sino-Vietnamese War (1979)
20,000 - 49,600 U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan (2001-)
13,000 - South Yemen Civil War (1986)
12,000 - Croatian Independence War (1991–1995)
7,000 - Kosovo War (1996–1999) (disputed)
5,000 - Turkish invasion of Cyprus (1974)
3,000 - Northern Ireland conflict. (1969 - 1998)
3,000 - Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire (2002 - )
2,000 - Football War (1969)
1,500 - Romanian Revolution (December 1989)
1,000 - Zapatista uprising in Chiapas (1994)
1,000 - Falklands War (1982)
537–3,000 - Operation Just Cause (Panama, 1989)

Individual battles and sieges

2,000,000 - Brusilov Offensive (4 June-20 September 1916)
1,800,000 - Battle of Stalingrad (1942–1943)
1,500,000 - Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944)
700,000 - Battle of Moscow (1941–1942)
500,000 - Battle of Smolensk (1941)
400,000 - Battle of Kiev (1941)
370,000 - Battle of Voronezh (1942)
370,000 - Battle of Belarus (1941)
330,000 - First Battle of the Marne (1914)
300,000 - Battle of the Somme (1916)
280,000 - Warsaw Uprising (1944)
280,000 - Second Battle of the Aisne (1917)
270,000 - Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive (1942)
270,000 - Battle of West Ukraine (1944)
260,000 - Battle of Verdun (1916)
260,000 - Battle of the Caucasus (1942)
240,000 - Third Battle of the Aisne (1918)
240,000(est) - Battle of Bibracte (58 BC)
230,000 - Battle of Berlin (1945)
230,000–350,000 - Battle of Kursk (1943)
207,000 - Battle of Plataea (479 BC)
200,000 - Siege of Tenochtitlan (1520–1521)
200,000 - Battle of Carthage (149 BC–146 BC)
190,000 - Battle of West Ukraine (1941)
180,000 - Battle of France (1940)
175,000–350,000 - Operation Bagration (1944)
170,000 - Battle of the Lower Dnieper (1943)
170,000 - Battle of Königsberg (1945)
165,000–300,000 Battle of Chalons (451)
150,000 - Battle of Rostov (1941)
150,000 - Battle of Okinawa (1945)
150,000 - Battle of Passchendaele (1917)
150,000 - Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC)
140,000 - Battle of Vercellae (101 BC)
132,000 - Battle of Normandy (1944)
130,000 - Battle of Gallipoli (1916)
130,000 - Battle of Budapest (1945)
125,000 - Third Battle of Nanking (1864)
125,000 - Battle of Lemberg (1914)
120,000 - Battle of Arausio (105 BC)
117,000 - Battle for the Liberation of Manila (1945)
115,000 - Battle of the Frontiers (1914)
110,000 - Battle of Issus (333 BC)
100,000 - Battle of Chernikov-Poltava (1943)
100,000 - Battle of Smolensk (1943)
100,000(est) - Battle of Lugdunum (197)
90,000 - Battle of Cambrai (1917)
90,000 - Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 BC)
83,000 - Battle of the Baltic (1941)
80,000 - Battle of Gazala (1942)
80,000 - Battle of the Somme (1918)
80,000 - Second Battle of the Marne (1918)
80,000(est) - Battle of Watling Street (AD 61)
74,000 - Battle of Polyarnoe-Karelia (1941)
72,000+ - Battle of Belgorod (1943)
70,000 - Second Battle of El Alamein (1942)
70,000 - Second Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)
70,000 - Second Battle of Anchialus (917)
69,000 - Battle of Leyte (1944)
66,000 - Battle of Donbass (1943)
65,000 - Battle of Lvov-Sandomir (1944)
62,000 - Battle of Artois (1915)
61,000 - Battle of the Baltic (1944)
60,000 - Battle of Basra (1985–1988)
60,000 - Battle of Monte Cassino (1944)
60,000 - Battle of Arras (1917)
60,000 - First Battle of Ypres (1914)
60,000 - Battle of Champagne (1915)
56,000–66,000 - Battle of Cannae (216 BC)
55,000 - Korsun Pocket (1944)
55,000 - Battle of Voronezh (1942)
50,000–80,000 - Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
50,000 - Meuse-Argonne offensive (1918)
50,000 - Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo (1917)
50,000 - Battle of Caporetto (1917)
50,000 - Battle of Hsuchow (1927)
45,000 - Fourth Battle of Kharkov (1943)
45,000 - Battle of Hurtgen Forest (1944–1945)
44,000 - Battle of the Crimea (1944)
42,000 - Battle of the Seelow Heights (1945)
40,000–56,000 - Tet Offensive (1968)
40,000 - Battle of Imphal (1944)
40,000 - Battle of Adrianople (378)
38,000 - Battle of the Bulge (1944–1945)
37,000 - Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
36,500 - Battle of the Ebro (1938)
35,000 - Battle of Mukden (1905)
32,000 - Battle of Lepanto (1571)
31,000 - Battle of Thapsus (46 BC)
31,000 - Battle of Taierzhuang (1937)
30,000 - Battle of Saipan (1944)
30,000 - Battle of Konotop (1659)
30,000 - Battle of Marignan (1515)
30,000–50,000 - Battle of Naissus (268)
30,000 - Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9)
30,300–34,000 - Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)
29,000 - Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
28,000–38,000 - Battle of Towton, (Wars of the Roses, 1461)
26,000 - Battle of Guadalcanal, (1942–1943)
25,000 - Battle of Pydna (168 BC)
26,000 - Katyn Massacre (1940)
24,000 - Battle of Chancellorsville (1863)
22,500 - Battle of Leipzig (1813)
21,000 - Battle of Guam (1944)
20,000–30,000 - Battle of Munda (45 BC)
20,000 - Battle of the Trebia (218 BC)
20,000 - Battle of Zama (202 BC)
19,000 - Battle of Vienna (1683)
18,500 - Battle of Borodino (1812)
18,500 - Operation Market Garden (1944)
17,000 - Battle of Bataan (1942)
16,500 - Battle of Halhin Gol (1939)
15,000 - Battle of Waterloo (1815)
15,000 - Battle of Lake Trasimene (217 BC)
13,500 - Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944)
12,000 - Siege of Tobruk (1941)
11,000 - Battle of Heraclea (180 BC)
11,000 - Siege of Petersburg, Virginia (1864–1865)
10,500 - Battle of Asculum (279 BC)
10,360 - Battle of Mons Graupius (83 or 84)
10,000 - Battle of the Metaurus (207 BC)
10,000 - Battle of Celaya (1913)
8,700 - Battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BC)
8,600 - Battle of Jutland (1916)
8,000+ - Battle of Agincourt, (Hundred Years' War, 1415)
7,200 - Kokoda Track Campaign, (1942–1943)
7,058 - Battle of Gettysburg (1863)
7,000–11,000 - Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC)
6,592 - Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
6,500 - Battle of the Kasserine Pass (1943)
6,500 - Battle of Tinian (1944)
5,700 - Battle of Tarawa (1943)
5,350+ - Battle of Suomussalmi (1939–1940)
5,000–8,000 - Battle of Hastings (1066)
5,000+ - Battle of Dara (530)
5,000+ - Battle of Dyrrhachium (1081)
4,808 - Battle of Antietam (1862)
4,360 - Battle of Chickamauga (1863)
4,329 - Battle of Isandlwana (1879)
4,175 - Battle of Leuthen (1757)
3,750 - Battle of the Wilderness (1864)
3,477 - Battle of Shiloh (1862)
3,205 - Second Battle of Bull Run (1862)
2,800 - Battle of Midway (1942)
2,400 - La Noche Triste (1520)
2,000+ - Battle of Vimeiro (August 20, 1808)
2,000+ - Battle of Manzikert (1071)
1,900 - First Battle of Fredericksburg (1862)
1,705 - Battle of Cold Harbor (June 1-June 3, 1864)
1,700 - Battle of Vicksburg (1863)
1,000+ - Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC)
868 - First Battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861)
639 - Battle of San Jacinto (1836)
586 - Battle of the Alamo (1836)
567 - Battle of Rorke's Drift (1879)
495 - Battle of Monongahela (1755)
366 - Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)
350 - Battle of Spioen Kop (1900)
302 - Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)
200–2,850 - Battle for Fallujah (November 8–November 14, 2004)

Genocide and democide

40,000,000, contradictory - Mao Zedong's Regime (China, 1949-1975)[1].
20,000,000–62,000,000 - Stalin's regime (1924-53), (not including WWII)[2]. (some claim as little as 6 with 25 or so being the generally accepted number)
11,000,000–19,000,000 - Slave trade in Islamic World over 1200 years (7th - 19th century) -needs explanation
6,000,000–60,000,000 - African and Atlantic slave trade (16th - 19th century)
5,000,000–12,000,000 - Nazi internments and Holocaust in Europe
- 6,000,000 - Jews
- 3,000,000 - victims of camps of other nationalities, mostly Eastern European
- 2,600,000–4,000,000 Soviet prisoners of war
- 1,000,000+ - Political prisoners
- 500,000-600,000 - Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia
- 250,000–1,000,000 Roma
- 70,000–275,000 Disabled
- 10,000–220,000 Homosexuals
5,000,000–10,000,000 - Congo Free State, (1877 - 1908)
2,000,000–100,000,000 - Destruction of Native Americans (after 1492) The estimates involved are controversial. For details of the controversy, see the linked article.
2,000,000–3,000,000 - Pol Pot's communization program (Cambodia, 1975-1979)
1,000,000–3,000,000 Armenian Massacres (1895-1923) Heavily Disputed. Most cited number is 1.5 million.
- 30,000–300,000 - Hamidian (First Armenian) Massacre (1895-1896)
- 6,000–30,000 - 1909
- 600,000–2,000,000 - Second Armenian Massacre (1915-1918)
- 250,000–500,0000 - (1919-1923)
937,000 - Genocide in Rwanda (Rwanda, 1994)
800,000–1,000,000 - Partition of India and Pakistan, (1947-1948)
500,000–1,500,000 - Degars killed in Vietnam, (Vietnam,1975 - present)
~400,000 - Ustasha/Independent State of Croatia genocide of Serbs, Jews, Roma people during World War II (1941-1945)
300,000 - Idi Amin's dictatorship (Uganda, 1971-1979)
250,000–1,000,000 - Massacre of alleged communists, (Indonesia, 1965-1966)
182,000 - Al-Anfal Campaign (Iraq, 1986-1989)
130,000-200,000 - civil war and highland massacres (Guatemala, civil war 1962-1996; intense period of highland massacres, early 1980s)
100,000 - cumulative total attributed to Thuggee (? - 1840)
75,000 - religious and political oppression under Henry VIII (1509-1547)
40,000–100,000 - Herero massacre, (Namibia, 1904-1908)
30,000 - Dictatorship of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, (Haiti, 1964 - 1971)
10,000 - Bosnian Genocide
10,000–30,000 Argentina's Dirty War, (Argentina, 1976 - 1983)
18,000 - Duke of Alba (Spanish Netherlands, 1567-1573)
15,000–18,000 - Dictatorship of Fidel Castro, (Cuba, 1959 - present)
3,000 - Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (Chile, 1973 - 1990)

Individual massacres, air raids, and concentration camps

1,100,000 - Auschwitz concentration camp (Oświęcim, Poland, 1940-1945)
700,000-1,000,000 - Treblinka extermination camp, (Treblinka, Poland, 1942-1943)
500,000-900,000 - 1938 Huang He flood, caused by sabotage in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1938)
260,000 - Sobibór extermination camp
250,000–800,000 - Sack of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan (1258)
220,000 - Massacre of the Helvetii (58 BC)
200,000+ - Sack of Moscow by Crimean Tatars, 1571
100,000–300,000 - Jews massacred in Poland by the Cossacks led by Chmielnitzki, (1648 - 1649)
100,000 - Massacre of Romans by Mithridates VI Eupator (Anatolia, 88 BC)
100,000-300,000 Tokyo firebombing,1945
100,000 - Manila Massacre (Manila, Philippines, 1945)
70,000 - Sack of Merv by Genghis Khan (1221)
70,000 - St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (France, 1572)
66,000–237,062 - Hiroshima Bombing (Japan, 1945)
60,000–100,000 - Sack of Jerusalem, First Crusade (1099)
50,000–350,000 - Rape of Nanking, China (1937)
50,000 - Bombing of Hamburg in World War II (Germany, 1943)
39,000–108,000 - Nagasaki Bombing (Japan, 1945)
30,000–40,000 - massacred in Novgorod by Ivan the Terrible
30,000 - Babi Yar Yom Kippur Jewish Massacre (Kiev, Ukraine, 1941)
25,000–60,000 Bombing of Dresden in World War II, (Germany,1945)
25,000 - Sack of Magdeburg (Thirty Years War, Germany, 1631)
20,000 - Sack of Baghdad by Timur (1401)
20,000 - Massacre of Praga (Poland, 1794)
14,000 - Haitians massacred by Rafael Leónidas Trujillo's government. (Dominican Republic, 1937)
12,000 - La matanza (El Salvador, 1931)
10,000-30,000 228 Incident, (Taiwan, 1947)
10,000 - Sack of Béziers (Albigensian Crusade, France, 1209)
8,000 - Srebrenica massacre (Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1995)
7,000 - the Spanish Fury in Antwerp, Belgium by mutining spanish troops, 1576
7,000 - Massacre in Thessalonika by Theodosius I (Byzantine Empire, 390)
7,000 - Zulus killed at the death of Nandi, mother of Shaka (1827)
5,000-12,000 - Massacre of Indians and Arabs in Zanzibar (Zanzibar, Tanzania, 1964)
5,000-7,000 - Halabja poison gas attack (Halabjah, Iraq, 1988)
5,000 - Massacre of Mamluks (Egypt, 1811)
3,000-5,000 Massacre at Hue (Vietnam, 1968)
1,645 - Guernica (Spain, 1937)
900 - El Mozote Massacre (El Salvador, 1981)
622 - Jamestown Massacre (1622)
379-1,000 - Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (Amritsar, India, 1919)
360 - Wyoming Valley Massacre (Pennsylvania, United States, 1778)
347-504 - My Lai Massacre (Vietnam, 1968)
328-5,500 - Sabra and Shatila Massacre (Lebanon, 1982)
320 - Bloody Assizes (England, 1685)
300 - Weenen Massacre (Natal, South Africa, 1838)
300 - Wounded Knee Massacre (South Dakota, United States, 1890)
268 - Plan de Sánchez massacre (Guatemala, 1982)
202-300 Bentalha massacre (Algiers, 1997)
192 - Tartu Massacre (Estonia, 1944)
173 - Tenes massacre (Algiers, 1994)
150-200 Lawrence Massacre (Kansas, 1863)
150 - Sand Creek Massacre (Colorado, United States, 1864)
120-400 Sidi-Hamed massacre (Algiers, 1998)
120 - Mountain Meadows Massacre (Utah, United States, 1857)
119 - Bojayá Massacre (Chocó, Colombia, 2002)
113 - Waxhaw Massacre (South Carolina, United States, 1780)
111 - 1992 Carandiru Massacre (São Paulo, Brazil, 1992)
100-400 - Rais massacre (Aligers, 1997)
100-300 - Waterloo Creek Massacre (Australia, 1838)
91–200 - Kristallnacht (Germany, 1938)
78 - Massacre of Glencoe (Scotland, 1692)
67 - Hebron 1929 Massacre (Palestine, 1929)
45–60 Acteal massacre (Mexico, 1997)
13 - Santiago Atitlan massacre - "el masacre" (Guatemala, 1990)

Terrorism

Not all terrorist acts have been accounted for. Just well known ones.

2,994 - September 11, 2001 attacks, (New York City, Arlington, VA, Shanksville, PA, United States, 2001)
344 - Beslan School Siege, (Beslan, Russia, 2004)
329 - Air India Flight 182 (Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland, 1985)
299 - US and French barracks bombings, (Beirut, Lebanon, 1983)
270 - Pan Am Flight 103, (Lockerbie, Scotland, 1988)
257 - 1993 Mumbai bombings (Mumbai, India, 1993)
225 - 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, (Tanzania, Kenya, 1998)
202 - 2002 Bali bombing, (Indonesia, 2002)
191 - 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings, (Spain, 2004)
181 - Kerbala and Baghdad attacks, (2004, see Ashoura Massacre)
171 - UTA Flight UT-772, (Niger, 1989)
170 - Moscow Theatre Siege, (Russia, 2002)
168 - Oklahoma City bombing, (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, 1995)
116 - Superferry 14 bombing, (Philippines, 2004)
98 - Fuel tanker bombing, (Musayyib, Iraq, 2005)
91 - King David Hotel bombing, (Jerusalem, 1946)
90 - Central Bank Bombing, (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1996)
90 - 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks, (Egypt, 2005)
89 - Russian airplane bombings, (Russia, 2004)
88 - TWA Flight 841, (Ionian Sea, 1974)
86 - AMIA Bombing, (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1994)
85 - Stazione Centrale bombing, (Bologna, Italy, 1980)
63 - April 1983 US Embassy bombing, (Beirut, Lebanon, 1983)
61 - 29 October 2005 New Delhi bombings, (New Delhi, 2005)
60 - 2005 Amman bombings, (Amman, 2005)
57 - 2003 Istanbul Bombings, (Turkey, 2003)
56 - 7 July 2005 London bombings (London, 2005)
52 - 2003 Mumbai bombings, (Mumbai, India, 2003)
46 - Casablanca Attacks, (Morocco, 2003)
40 - Wall Street bombing, (New York City, 1920)
34 - 2004 Sinai bombings, Taba and Nuweib, Egypt, 2004
33 - Pan Am Flight 110, (Italy, 1973)
33 - Coimbatore blasts, (India, 1998)
33 - Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, (Ireland, 1974)
30 - Passover massacre, (Israel, 2002)
29 - Israeli Embassy Attack in Buenos Aires, (Argentina, 1992)
29 - Omagh Bombing, (Northern Ireland, 1998)
29 - Mosque of Abraham massacre, West Bank, (1994)
26 - bus No. 18 Jerusalem massacre, (Israel, 1996)
26 - Lod Airport Massacre, (Israel 1972)
26 - Riyadh Compound Bombings, (Saudi Arabia, 2003)
23 - Jerusalem bus 2 massacre, (Israel, 2003)
22 - No. 5 bus Tel-Aviv massacre, (Israel, 1994)
22 - Tel-Aviv central bus station massacre, (Israel, 2003)
21 - Dolphinarium massacre, (Israel, 2001)
21 - Maxim restaurant suicide bombing, (Israel, 2003)
21 - Beit Lid junction massacre, (Israel, 1995)
21 - Hipercor bombing by ETA, (Barcelona, Spain, 1987)
19 - bus No. 18 Jerusalem massacre, (Israel, 1996)
19 - Patt junction massacre, (Israel, 2002)
19 - Birmingham pub bombing, (England, 1974)
17 - USS Cole Bombing, (Yemen, 2000)
15 - Sbarro massacre, (Israel, 2001)
15 - Matza restaurant massacre, (Israel, 2002)
12 - Sarin attack, Tokyo Subway, (Tokyo, Japan, 1995)
11 - Deal barracks bombing, (Deal, Kent, England, 1989)
11 - Jerusalem bus 20 massacre, (Israel, 2002)
9 - Bloody Friday, (Northern Ireland, 1972)
6 - World Trade Center bombing, (New York, United States, 1993)
5 - Guildford pub bombing, (England, 1974)
5 - Brighton bombing, (England, 1984)
4 - Murder of Lord Mountbatten, (Northern Ireland, 1979)
3 - Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing, (Australia, 1978)
3 - Baltic Exchange bombing, (London, England, 1992)

Murder (by individuals, other than through terrorism)

~650 - Erzsébet Báthory, Kingdom of Hungary, (c.1585 - 1610) - total disputed
400 - Abadan theater arson (Abadan, Iran, 1978)
323 - Circus arson, (Niterói, Brazil, 1961)
300+ - Pedro Lopez, South America, (1969 - 1980) - total disputed
~250 - Dr. Harold Shipman, Hyde, United Kingdom, (1970s?-1998)
189 - Subway arson (Daegu, South Korea, 2003)
140 - Luis Garavito, Colombia, (1992-1998)
125 - Behram, Thugee cult, India, (1790 - 1830)
100 - Donald Henry "Pee Wee" Gaskins, serial killer from Johnsonville, South Carolina who prior to his execution, claimed over 100 killed
97 - Dupont Plaza Hotel arson, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1986)
87 - Happyland Fire, New York City, (1990)
80+ - Bruno Ludke, Germany, (1928 - 1943)
63 - Arson at a Macedonian disco in Gothenburg, Sweden (1998)
53 - Andrei Chikatilo, Ukraine, (1982 - 1990)
52 - Anatoly Onopriyenko, Ukraine, (1996)
48+ - Gary Ridgway, Green River Killer, Washington, USA (1980s)
45 - Bath School Disaster, Bath, Michigan, USA (1927)
35 - Port Arthur Massacre, Australia (1996)
33 - John Wayne Gacy, Chicago, (1970s)
29-40 - Charles Cullen, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, USA (1988 - 2003)
27–63 Marcel Petiot, France, (1926 - 1944)
27 - Dean Corll, Houston, Texas, USA (1970 - 1973)
27 - Maria Swanenburg Leiden, Netherlands, (1880-1883)
24 - Bela Kiss, Cinkota, Hungary (1912 - 1916)
23 - Ted Bundy, Florida, (1970s)
22+ - Robert Pickton (alleged), (Vancouver, 1990s)
21 - Yoo Young-Chul, (Seoul, 2003-2004)
21 - James Oliver Huberty, McDonald's massacre, San Ysidro, California, USA (1984)
20-100 - H. H. Holmes, Chicago, USA (1890s)
18 - Dunblane Massacre, Scotland, United Kingdom (1996)
17 - Jeffrey Dahmer, Milwaukee, (1978-1991)
17 - Michael Robert Ryan, Hungerford Massacre, England, (1987)
16 - Charles Whitman, University of Texas sniper, Austin, Texas (1966)
16 - Postal shooting, Edmond, Oklahoma (1986)
16 - Erfurt massacre, Erfurt, Germany (2002)
16 - West Port murders, Edinburgh, Scotland, (1827-1828)
15 - Columbine High School massacre Colorado, (1999)
15 - Dennis Nilsen London, United Kingdom, (1978-1983)
14 - École Polytechnique Massacre, Montreal, Canada, (1989)
13 - Howard Unruh, Camden, New Jersey, (1949)
13 - Hatfield-McCoy feud West Virginia/Kentucky (1860 - 1891)
13 - Boston Strangler, Boston, USA (1962 - 1964)
13 - Peter Sutcliffe, West Yorkshire, UK (1975 - 1980)
13 - Richard Ramirez, Southern California, USA (1985)
12 - Fred West, Gloucester, England, (1973 - 1987)
11 - Clifford Robert Olson, Lower Mainland, British Columbia (1981)
11 - Henri Désiré Landru, Paris, France, (1914 - 1918)
11 - Juan Manuel Alvarez, Glendale, California, (2005)
10 - Tore Hedin, Annelöv outside Landskrona, Sweden - (1951 - 1952)
10 - Edmund Kemper, Santa Cruz, California (1964 - 1973)
10 - Dennis Rader ("BTK killer"), Kansas, USA (1974 - 1991)
10 - Hillside Strangler, Los Angeles, USA (1977 - 1978)
9-80 - Peter Kürten, Düsseldorf, Germany (1925 - 1929)
8 - Postal shooting, Goleta, California (2006)
7 - Mattias Flink, Falun, Sweden - (1994)
6+ - "Zodiac killer", California, USA (1966 - 1969?)
5+ - Jack the Ripper, London, England (1888)
5+ - Juan Covington, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania USA {1998 - 2005}
5 - Johan Filip Nordlund onboard a steamer on its way to Stockholm, Sweden - (1900)
4 - Tommy Zethraeus (The Stureplan Murders) Stockholm, Sweden - (1994)
2-15 - Henry Lee Lucas, Texas, USA (1960 - 1983)
2 - Ed Gein, Plainfield, Wisconsin (1957)

Human sacrifice and mass suicide

80,000 (estimated) - suicides of Japanese civilians during the Battle of Okinawa, (1945)
15,000 (estimated) - Holy Inquisition (Europe). 1184 - 1800
8,000 - suicides of Japanese civilians and troops during the Battle of Saipan, (1944)
3,000 (modern estimate) - 80,000 ('classic' estimate) - temple of Huitzilopochtli, Tenochtitlan
960 - Jewish zealots, after a prolonged siege of Masada, during the Roman-Jewish war of 66-73
913 - Jonestown mass suicide & murders (Guyana, 1978)
53 - Order of the Solar Temple (Switzerland and Canada; October 5, 1994)
39 - Heaven's Gate (California, 1997)
16 - Order of the Solar Temple (France; December 23, 1995)

Riot or political demonstration

87,000 - Chinese massacres of Tibetan pro-independence protestors (Tibet, China 1959)
30,000 - Nika riots (Constantinople, 532)
30,000 - La semaine sanglante (Paris, 1871)
11,000 - Romanian Peasants' Revolt, 1907
7,500 - March 1st Movement (Seoul, Korea, 1919)
3,000 - Burma 1988 demonstrations (Yangon, (a.o.) Myanmar, 1988)
1,000 - Bloody Sunday (1905) (St. Petersburg, Russia, 1905)
500–2,600 - Aftermath of Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 (China, 1989)
400 - Iranian pilgrim riot (Mecca, 1987)
300–5,000 - Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 (China, 1989)
285 - Gordon Riots (England, 1780)
200–300 - Tlatelolco massacre (Mexico, 1968)
184 - May 13 Incident (Kuala Lumpur, 1969)
100 - Napoleon's "whiff of grapeshot" (Paris, 1795)
100 - New York Draft Riots (New York City, 1863)
95 - Riots in Palestine of May, 1921 (Tel Aviv, 1921)
94 - Jerusalem Riots of 1947
84 - Riot and crushing during mass arrests (Narathiwat province, Thailand, 2004)
50–60 - 1992 Los Angeles riots (1992)
50 - Champ-de-Mars massacre (Paris, 1791)
43 - Attica Prison riots (New York, 1971)
43 - 12th Street Riot (Detroit, 1967)
40–50 - Newton Rebellion (Newton, Northamptonshire, UK, 1607)
39+ - Tulsa Race Riot, Tulsa, Oklahoma,USA, the official death toll is 39, although recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
36 - 1964 Race Riots (Singapore, 1964)
34 - Watts Riot (Los Angeles, 1965)
25 - Corpus Christi Massacre (Mexico City, 1971)
18 - Maria Hertogh riots (Singapore, 1950)
14 - Bloody Sunday (1972) (Derry, Northern Ireland)
13 - Chinese Middle School riots (Singapore, 1956)
11 - Peterloo massacre (England, 1819)
7–60 - Massacre in Côte d'Ivoire by French troops (Côte d'Ivoire, 2004)
5 - Greensboro massacre (Greensboro, North Carolina, 1979)
4 - Kent State shootings (Kent, Ohio, 1970)
4 - Hock Lee bus riots (Singapore, 1955)
1 - Murray-Hill riot (Montréal, 1969)

Deaths caused by natural disasters

See List of natural disasters by death toll

Death from other causes

Fire

ca. 2,500 - Church of La Compana (Santiago, Chile, 1863)
ca. 2,000 - Peshtigo Fire, (Wisconsin, 1871)
1,700 - Waterfront fire, (Chongqing, China, 1949)
1,670 - theater fire (Canton, China, 1845)
1,100–2,700 - Salang tunnel fire (Afghanistan, 1982)
694 - theater fire (Xinjiang, China, 1977)
658 - Antoung Movie Theater (China, 1937)
620 - Ring Theatre (Vienna, Austria, 1881)
602 - Iroquois Theater Fire, (Chicago, 1903)
559 - forest fire (Cloquet, Minnesota, 1918)
500 - Pemex LP gas fire (Mexico City, Mexico, 1984)
500 - flood-spread fuel fire (Durunka, Egypt, 1994)
492 - Cocoanut Grove fire, (Boston, 1942)
468 - Texas City Disaster, (Texas City, Texas, 1947)
465+ - Asunción Paraguay supermarket fire, (2004)
441 - Rajiv Marriage Palace (school function) (Mandi Dabwali, India, 1995)
418 - Hinckley Fire (Minnesota, 1894)
400 - Abadan theater arson (Abadan, Iran, 1978)
326 - North German Lloyd Steamship Line piers (Hoboken, New Jersey, 1900)
324 - movie theater, (Xinjiang, China, 1994)
323 - Circus arson, (Niterói, Brazil, 1961)
322 - L'Innovation department store (Brussels, Belgium, 1967)
320 - Ohio State Penitentiary fire, (Columbus, Ohio, 1930)
310 - theater fire (Karamay, China, 1994)
309 - Disco fire (Luoyang, China, 2000)
300 - subway fire, (Baku, Azerbaijan, 1995)
300 - Great Chicago Fire (Chicago, 1871)
285 - Conway's Theater, (New York City, 1876)
282 - Thumb Fire, (Michigan, 1881)
194 - República Cromagnon nightclub fire, (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2004)
189 - Subway arson (Daegu, South Korea, 2003)
189 - Joelma Fire, (São Paulo, Brazil, 1974)
187 - Doll factory (Bangkok, Thailand, 1993)
178 - School fire Collinwood, Ohio, 1908)
170 - Rhoads Opera House (Boyerton, Pennsylvania, 1908)
167 - Piper Alpha oil platform, (North Sea, 1988)
165 - Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, (Southgate, Kentucky, 1977)
168 - Hartford Circus Fire, (Hartford, Connecticut, 1944)
162 - Hotel Daeyungak, Seoul, South Korea (25th December 1971)
160 - Richmond Theater, (Richmond, Virginia, 1811)
160 - Miramichi Fire, (New Brunswick, 1825)
156 - Alpine tunnel fire (Kaprun, Austria, 2000)
150 - Clifford's Tower, (York, England, 1190)
150 - Exeter Theatre Royal fire, (Exeter, England, 1887)
145 - Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, (New York, 1911)
140 - Gas Truck Crash, (Tarragona, Spain, 1978)
119 - Winecoff Hotel Fire, (Atlanta, Georgia, December 7, 1946)
100 - The Station nightclub fire (Rhode Island, 2003)
99 - Knights of Columbus Disaster, St. John's, Newfoundland, December 12, 1942
97 - Dupont Plaza Hotel arson, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1986)
92 - School Fire Kumbakonam,Tamil Nadu,India(16th July 2004)
84 - Paris Metro train fire (Paris, France, 1903)
76 - "Ash Wednesday" bushfires (Australia, 1983)
72 - Branch Davidian compound (Waco, Texas, 1993)
71 - "Black Friday" bushfires (Australia, 1939)
63 - discotheque fire (Göteborg, Sweden, 1998)
62 - Hobart bushfire (Australia, 1967)
51 - Summerland disaster (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1973)
48 - Stardust Nightclub, (Dublin, Ireland, 1981)
41 - Ballantyne's Department Store fire (Christchurch, New Zealand, 1947)
39 - Mont Blanc Tunnel fire, (France/Italy, 1999)
36 - Hindenburg disaster, (Lakehurst, New Jersey, 1937)
30 - King's Cross Station, Escalator fire, (London, 1987)

Explosion

not including bombings, aviation incidents and mine disasters

1,635 - Halifax Explosion, (Nova Scotia, 1917)
1,100 - ammunition trucks (Cali, Colombia, 1956)
1,000 - Ammunition dump fire, (Lagos, Nigeria, 2002), many deaths were from drowning during the panic
568 - Texas City Disaster (Texas, 1947)
565 - Oppau explosion, Germany, 1921)
500 - Pipeline explosion beside Trans-Siberian railway (Ufa, Russia, 1989)
322 - Port Chicago disaster (Port Chicago, California, 1944)
294 - New London School explosion (New London, Texas, 1937)
206 - gas explosions (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, 1992)
130 - LP gas tanks (Cleveland, Ohio, 1944)
126 - Nedelin catastrophe, (USSR, 1960)
103 - USS Bennington, (off Quonset Point, Rhode Island, 1954)
100+ - Delft Explosion (Netherlands, 1654)
48 - Vostok rocket explosion (Soviet Union, 1980)
40 - Lapua ammo factory (Finland, 1976)
33 - Humberto Vidal Explosion (San Juan, Puerto Rico,1996)
22 - Fireworks factory (Enschede, Netherlands, 2000)
21 - Brazilian rocket explosion (Brazil, 2003)
7 - Myyrmanni bombing (Finland, 2002), unclear if this was an intentional bombing

Coal mine disasters

1,549 - Benxihu Colliery explosion, (China, 1942)
1,099 - Coal mine explosion (Courrières, France, 1903)
472 - coal mine (Wankie, Rhodesia, 1972)
447 - coal mine (Omuta, Japan, 1963)
439 - Senghenydd Colliery Disaster (Senghenydd, United Kingdom, 1913)
437 - coal mine (Coalbrook, South Africa, 1960)
405 - coal mine (Bergkemen, West Germany, 1946)
375 - coal mine (Bihar, India, 1965)
372 - coal mine (Dhanbad, India, 1975)
362 - coal mine (Monongah, West Virginia, 1907)
344 - Pretoria Pit Disaster, (Westhoughton, England, 1910)
298 - coal mine (Saarland, West Germany, 1962)
263 - coal mine (Dawson, New Mexico, 1913)
263 - coal mine (Zonguldak, Turkey, 1992)
262 - coal mine (Marcinelle, Belgium, 1956)
259 - coal mine (Cherry, Illinois, 1909)
257 - coal mine (Grundy, Virginia, 1937)
239 - coal mine (Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania, 1907)
236 - coal mine (Fukuoka, Japan, 1965)
214 - 2005 Liaoning mine disaster (China, 2005)
200 - coal mine (Scofield, Utah, 1900)
189 - coal mine (Hillcrest mine, Canada, 1914)
180 - coal mine (Tuzla, Yugoslavia, 1990)
166 - coal mine (Chenjiashan mine, Shaanxi province, China, 28 Nov 2004)
159 - coal mine (Muchonggou mine, Guangxi province, China, 26 Sep 2000)
148 - coal mine (Daping mine, Henan province, China, 20 Oct 2004)
123 - coal mine (Daxing mine, Guangdong province, China, 6 Aug 2005)
83 - coal mine (Fukang city, Xinjiang region, China, 13 Jul 2005)
59 - coal mine (Xishui mine, Shanxi province, China, 20 Mar 2005)
43 - coal mine (Muchonggou mine, Guizhou province, China, 24 Feb 2003)

Aviation

2,994 - September 11, 2001 attacks, (New York City, Arlington, VA, Shanksville, PA, United States, 2001)
583 - Tenerife disaster (Tenerife, 1977)
520 - Japan Airlines Flight 123, (Japan, 1985)
350 - cargo plane crashes on marketplace (Kinshasa, Zaire, 1996)
349 - Saudi Arabian Airlines plane collided with a Kazak Airlines plane, (New Delhi, 1996)
346 - Turkish Airlines (Paris, 1974)
329 - Air India flight 182 (Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland, 1985)
301 - Saudi Arabian Airlines (Jeddah, 1980)
290 - Iran Air Flight 655 (Persian Gulf, 1988)
276 - Iranian military airplane, (Sirach Mountains, 2003)
275 - American Airlines Flight 191 (Chicago, 1979)
270 - Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie, 1988)
269 - Korean Air Flight 7 (Sakhalin Island, 1983)
265 - American Airlines Flight 587, (New York City, 2001)
264 - China Airlines (Nagoya, 1994)
261 - Haj charter plane (Jedda, 1991)
257 - Mount Erebus disaster (Antarctica, 1979)
256 - Arrow Air U.S. military charter (Gander, Newfoundland, 1985)
230 - TWA Flight 800 (Long Island, 1996)
229 - Swissair Flight 111 (Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1998)
225 - China Airlines Flight 611 (Penghu Islands, 2002)
202 - EgyptAir Flight 990 (Cape Cod, 2001)
160 - China Northwest Airlines (Xian, China) (6 June 1994)
160 - West Caribbean Airways Flight 708(Venezuela, 2005)
159 - South African Airways Flight 295 (Helderberg disaster) (Indian Ocean, 1987)
141 - China Southern Airlines (Guangzhou, China) (24 November (1992)
137 - Delta Airlines Flight 191 (Dallas, TX, 1985)
128 - (Air China; Pusan, South Korea, 15 April 2002
121 - Helios Airways Flight 522 (Greece, 2005)
112 - (China Northern MD82; Dalian, China, 7 May 2002)
110 - ValuJet Flight 592 (Florida Everglades, 1996)
109 - Air France Flight 4590 - Concorde crash (Gonesse, France, 2000)
104 - Silkair Flight MI-185 (Sumatra, 1997)
99 - TAM Linhas Aéreas's Fokker 100 disaster (São Paulo, Brazil - 1996)
83 - Singapore Airlines Flight 006 (Taipei, 2000)
78 - Air Florida Flight 90 (Washington, DC, 1982)
70 - Ramstein airshow disaster (Germany, 1988)
67 - LAPA Airlines Flight 3142 crash, (Argentina, 1999)
61 - (China Southwest Airlines; Ruian, China, 24 February 1999)
53 - (China Eastern Airlines Flight Mu5210) (Baotou City, China, 21 Nov 2004)
35 - Hindenburg disaster (New Jersey, 1937)
31 - Superga air disaster (Superga, near Turin, 1949)

Maritime

Sporting events

100,000–650,000 - Deaths in the Roman Colosseum for public entertainment (Rome, 80–404)
1,112 - Upper tier collapse of the Circus Maximus, (Ancient Rome, c.140 AD)
604 - Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley Racecourse, stand collapsed and caught fire, 1918. Figure is conservative and found via the Guinness Book of World Records. Most online sources give the death toll as 6,000.
340 - Moscow soccer match crush (Moscow, 1982)
300 - (estimated) Peru vs. Argentina football game riot (Lima, Peru, May 24 , 1964)
123 - Hearts of Oak vs. Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko soccer match crush (Accra, Ghana, 2001)
96 - Hillsborough disaster crush (England, 1989)
84 - Guatemala and Costa Rica football match crush (Guatemala City,
82 - 24 hours of Le Mans disaster (France, 1955)
80 - football match crush (Katmandu, Nepal, 1988)
72 - River Plate vs Boca Juniors football match, stampede at gate 12 (Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 23, 1968)
66 - Second Ibrox disaster crush (Glasgow, 1971)
56 - Bradford City football stadium fire (Bradford, England, 1985)
43 - Ellis Park Stadium Disaster, Johannesburg, South Africa, May 10, 2001
39 - Heysel Stadium disaster football stadium hooliganism (Bruxelles, Belgium, 1985)
26 - First Ibrox disaster, terracing collapse (Glasgow, 1902)
21 - Olympiacos stampede at the old Karaiskaki stadium (Piraeus, Greece, 1981)
17 - 1979 Fastnet race (Fastnet Rock, 1979)

Industrial accidents

15,000+ - Bhopal Disaster India (1984)
1,549 - Benxihu Colliery explosion, (China, 1942)
568 - Texas City Disaster (Texas, 1947)
167 - Piper Alpha oil rig disaster (North Sea, 1988)
125 - Buffalo Creek Flood / Pittston Coal Company dam failure, (West Virginia, United States, 1972)
105 - mine elevator failure, (South Africa, 1995)
21 - Boston Molasses Disaster (Boston, 1919)

Stampedes and Panics

4,000 - mass panic at air raid shelter, during Japanese bombing of the city, most deaths caused by suffocation (Chongqing, China, 1941)
1,426 - stampede by pilgrims inside a pedestrian tunnel (Mecca, 1990)
1,400–2,000 - stampede at coronation of Tsar Nicholas II, (Moscow, 1896)
953 - Baghdad bridge stampede, (Baghdad, Iraq, 2005)
800 - crowd crush at religious festival (Allahabad, India, 1954)
362 - stampede at the stoning of the devil ritual (Mecca, 2006)
340 - Moscow soccer match crush (Moscow, 1982)
270 - stampede at the stoning of the devil ritual (Mecca, 1994)
258 - crowd crush at religious festival (Wai, Maharashtra, India, 2005)
251 - stampede at the stoning of the devil ritual (Mecca, 2004)
200 – Victoria Hall theatre panic (Sunderland, 1883) [3]
173 - Bethnal Green tube station panic (London, 1943)
123 - Hearts of Oak vs. Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko soccer match crush (Accra, Ghana, 2001)
118 - pilgrims trampled to death (Mecca, 1998)
96 - Hillsborough disaster crush (England, 1989)
88 - Manila Stadium stampede, 2006 [4]
84 - Guatemala and Costa Rica soccer match crush (Guatemala City,
73 - Italian Hall Disaster (Calumet, Michigan, 1913)
72 - River Plate vs Boca Juniors football match, stampede at gate 12 (Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 23, 1968)
66 - Second Ibrox disaster crush (Glasgow, 1971)
21 - Olympiacos stampede at the old Karaiskaki stadium (Piraeus, Greece, 1981)

Other accidents

ca. 1,700 "Queen of the Sea" train disaster, Telwatta, Sri Lanka caused by the tsunami created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
1,635 - Halifax Explosion, (Nova Scotia, 1917)
800+ - train wreck, (Bihar, India, 1981)
436 - Man-eating tigress, (Champawat, India, 1907)
151 - Tangiwai train disaster (New Zealand, 1953)
150 - Ryongchon disaster (North Korea, 2004)
144 - Aberfan landslide disaster (Wales, 1966)
126 - Nedelin catastrophe, (USSR, 1960)
114 - Hyatt Regency walkway collapse, (Kansas City, Missouri, 1981)
103 - Amagasaki rail crash, (Japan, 2005)
101 - ICE high-speed train disaster, (Germany, 1998)
83 - Granville train disaster, Granville, Sydney, Australia
75 - Tay Rail Bridge (Scotland, 1879)
64 - Sverdlovsk anthrax leak (Soviet Union, 1979)
48 - Vostok rocket explosion (Soviet Union, 1980)
42 - Cavalese cable-car disaster, (Italy, 1976)
27 - Tretten train accident (Norway, 1975)
21 - Brazilian rocket explosion (Brazil, 2003)
20 - Cavalese cable-car disaster, (Italy, 1998) cable severed by United States Marine Corps military aircraft
19 - Åsta train accident (Norway, 2000)
11 - Petrobras 36 Oil Platform explosions (Brazil, 2001)

Nuclear accidents

200+ - Mayak nuclear waste storage tank explosion, (Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union, 29 September 1957), figure is a conservative estimate, 270,000 people exposed to dangerous radiation levels. More than 30 small communities had been removed from USSR maps since 1958.
31 - Chernobyl accident (Soviet Union, 1986, uncertain number of later casualties from cancer and other radiation-induced sickness.)
8 - Soviet submarine K-19 4 July 1961.
3 - SL-1 (US Army) 1961.
2 - Tokai, Ibaraki nuclear fuel reprocessing plant (Japan, 1986).

See List of nuclear accidents

External links