A
natural disaster
A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...
is a sudden event that always causes widespread destruction, major collateral damage or loss of life, brought about by forces other than the acts of human beings. A natural disaster might be caused by earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruption, landslide, hurricanes etc. To be classified as a disaster, it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently causes financial loss.
Ten deadliest natural disasters by highest estimated death toll excluding epidemics and famines
This list takes into account only the highest estimated death toll for each disaster, and lists them accordingly. It does not include
epidemics
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectiou ...
and famines. It does not include several volcanic eruptions with uncertain death tolls resulting from collateral effects such as crop failures; see
List of volcanic eruptions by death toll
Volcanic eruptions can be highly explosive. Some volcanoes have undergone catastrophic eruptions, killing large numbers of humans or other life forms. This list documents volcanic eruptions by human death toll.
Volcanic eruptions
See also
...
. The list also does not include the
1938 Yellow River flood, which was caused by the deliberate destruction of dikes.
Deadliest natural disasters by year excluding epidemics and famines
20th century
21st century
Lists of natural disasters by cause
Ten deadliest earthquakes
Ten deadliest famines
''Note: Some of these famines may have been caused or partially caused by humans.''
''Note: This list is ranked by number of deaths. Not deaths per capita, as in the percentage of the population.''
Deadliest impact events
''Note: While there is only one scientifically verified case of
astronomical object
An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often u ...
s resulting in human fatalities, there have been several reported occurrences throughout human history. Consequently, the casualty figures for all events listed are considered unofficial.''
Deadliest limnic eruptions
''Note: Only 2 cases in recorded history.''
Ten deadliest wildfires/bushfires
Ten deadliest avalanches/landslides
Ten deadliest blizzards
Ten deadliest floods
''Note: Some of these floods and landslides may be partially caused by humans – for example, by failure of dams,
levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually earthen and that often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastli ...
s,
seawalls or
retaining wall
Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides.
Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...
s.
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).''
Ten deadliest 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.''
Ten deadliest pandemics / epidemics
Death counts are historical totals unless indicated otherwise.
Events in boldface are ongoing.
Ten deadliest tornadoes
Ten deadliest tropical cyclones
''Note: Earlier versions of this list have included the so-called '
Bombay Cyclone of 1882
The so-called Bombay Cyclone of 1882 or Great Bombay Cyclone is a hoax (or otherwise fictitious) historical event. Supposedly, the cyclone struck Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capit ...
' in tenth position, but this supposed event has been proven to be a
hoax
A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
.''
Ten deadliest tsunamis
''Note: A possible tsunami in 1782 that caused about 40,000 deaths in the
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide.
The Taiwan Strait is itself a ...
area may have been of "meteorological" origin (a cyclone).''
Ten deadliest volcanic eruptions
See also
*
List of countries by natural disaster risk
*
List of all known deadly earthquakes since 1900
*
List of disasters in Canada
This list of disasters in Canada includes major disasters (arranged by date), either man-made or natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and a ...
*
List of disasters in Indonesia
The following is a list of disasters in Indonesia that have had widespread effects or received substantial attention. It is split into natural and manmade disasters, which includes deliberate actions, and is further sorted by date.
Natural disaste ...
*
List of disasters in the Philippines
This is a list of disasters in the Philippines.
Astronomical phenomenon Pre-history
Historical era
Volcanic eruptions Pre-history
* Most of the eruptions recorded from potentially active stratovolcano according to Rev. Andrei John Apostol, P ...
*
List of disasters in Thailand
Many disasters have occurred in Thailand, leading to loss of life and economic damages. Most natural disasters that have happened in the country are storm- and flood-related, while man-made disasters have also caused great losses. This page lists b ...
*
List of natural disasters in the British Isles
*
List of natural disasters in Haiti
Throughout its history, Haiti has suffered cyclones, hurricanes, tropical storms, torrential rains, floods and earthquakes.
The hurricane season in Haiti lasts from June to the end of November.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of natural di ...
*
List of natural disasters in New Zealand
*
List of natural disasters in Pakistan
The following is a list of natural disasters that have affected Pakistan.
See also
*List of floods in Pakistan
*List of earthquakes in Pakistan
* List of tropical cyclones in Pakistan
*List of extreme weather records in Pakistan
The weat ...
*
List of natural disasters in the United States
This list of United States natural disasters is a list of notable natural disasters that occurred in the United States after 1816. Due to inflation, the monetary damage estimates are not comparable. Unless otherwise noted, the year given is t ...
*
Natural disasters in India
Natural catastrophe in India, many of them related to the climate of India, cause massive losses of life and property. Droughts, flash floods, cyclones, avalanches, landslides brought by torrential rains, and snowstorms pose the greatest threat ...
*
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
The following is a list of all known disasters in Antarctica which have resulted in fatalities. It includes disasters which happened on land, as well as in the waters surrounding the continent.
See also
* List of disasters in Australia by deat ...
*
List of disasters in Australia by death toll
This is a list of disasters in Australia by death toll.
100 or more deaths
50 to 99 deaths
20 to 49 deaths
Between 10 and 20
Gallery
Image:Port arthur outside.jpg, The Port Arthur massacre claimed 35 lives in 1996 when Martin Brya ...
*
List of disasters in Canada by death toll
*
List of disasters in Croatia by death toll
The list of disasters in Croatia by death toll includes major disasters and accidents - excluding warfare and other intentional acts - that took place on Croatian soil and resulted in 10 or more fatalities:
__NOTOC__
See also
* List of disasters ...
*
List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll
The following list of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland is a list of major disasters (excluding acts of war) which relate to the United Kingdom or Ireland, or to the states that preceded them, or that involved their citizens, in a definable ...
*
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
References
External links
Natural Hazards Datafrom NOAA
National Geophysical Data Center
"When Nature Attacks"from ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
''
World's worst natural disasters since 1900Earthquake Hazards Program– USGS
EM-DAT: The International Disaster Databasemanaged by the
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
Disasters Database Reportfrom
Emergency Management Australia
Emergency Management Australia (EMA) was an Australian Government body responsible for emergency management coordination. EMA was transferred from the Attorney-General's Department in a machinery of government change to become a division of the ne ...
{{Death
Natural disasters by death toll
Natural disasters
Death toll
''Death toll'' is the number of dead as a result of a war, disaster, or other event.
It may also refer to:
* '' Death Toll'', 2008 action film
* '' High-Ballin, 1978 action comedy film also released as ''Death Toll''
See also
* List of li ...
Lists of wildfires