What are the worst natural disasters by death toll ever? Top Ten Worst Natural Disasters | Rank | Type | Location | Date | Death Toll | | 1. | Flood | Huang He River, China | Summer 1931 | 850,000-4,000,000 | | 2. | Flood | China | 1959 | 2,000,000 | | 3. | Flood | Huang He River, China | September-October 1887 | 900,000-2,000,000 | | 4. | Tropical Cyclone | Ganges Delta, East Pakistan | November 13, 1970 | 500,000-1,000,000 | | 5. | Earthquake | Shaanxi Province, China | January 23, 1556 | 830,000 | | 6. | Flood | North China | 1939 | 500,000 | | 7. | Tsunami | Indian Ocean | December 26, 2004 | 250,000-310,000 | | 8. | Tropical Cyclone | Haiphong, Vietnam | 1881 | 300,000 | | 9. | Flood | Kaifeng, Henan Province, China | 1642 | 300,000 | | 10. | Earthquake | Tangshan, China | July 28, 1976 | 242,000* | *Official Government figure. Estimated death toll as high as 655,000. Earthquakes - Highest Death Tolls | Rank | Location | Magnitude | Date | Death Toll | | 1. | Shaanxi Province , China | ~8 | January 23, 1556 | 830,000* | | 2. | Tangshan, China | 7.5 | July 28, 1976 | 242,000** | | 3. | Aleppo , Syria | unknown | August 9 , 1138 | 230,000 | | 4. | Near Xining , China | 7.9 | May 22 , 1927 | 200,000 | | 5. | Damghan, Iran | unknown | December 22 , 1856 | 200,00 | * 1556 Shaanxi earthquake
**Official Government figure. Estimated death toll as high as 655,000. | | Tropical cyclones - Highest Death Tolls | Rank | Location | Date | Death Toll | | 1. | Ganges Delta, East Pakistan | November 13, 1970 | 500,000 to 1,000,000 | | 2. | Haiphong, Vietnam | 1881 | 300,000 | | 3. | Ganges Delta, Bangladesh | October 1876 | 215,000 | | 4. | Bombay, India | June 6, 1882 | 100,000 | | 5. | Calcutta, India | October 5, 1864 | 70,000 | - Note: October 7, 1737 Bengal, India Cyclone not included on this list, because of inablity to find an accurate death toll. Reports range from 3,000 (meaning it wouldn't be included on this list) to 300,000 (making it the second worst on record.)
Landslides - Highest Death Tolls | Rank | Location | Date | Death Toll | | 1. | Kahait, Tajikistan | 1949 | 12,000 | | 2. | Chiavenna Valley, Italy | September 4, 1618 | 2,240 | | 3. | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | January 11- January 13, 1966 | 550 | | 4. | Goldau Valley, Switzerland | September 2, 1806 | 500 | | 5. | Panabaj, Guatemala | October, 2005 | 500+ | Tornadoes - Highest Death Tolls | Rank | Location | Date | Death Toll | | 1. | Midwest U.S.A. | March 18, 1925 | 747 | | 2. | Mississippi and Georgia, U.S.A | April 5- April 6, 1936 | 436 | | 3. | Mississippi, U.S.A. | May 7, 1840 | 317 | | 4. | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. | May 27, 1896 | 255 | | 5. | South-Central U.S.A. | March 21- March 22, 1952 | 343 | Volcanoes - Highest Death Tolls | Rank | Location | Date | Death Toll | | 1. | Tambora, Indonesia | April 5- April 12, 1815 | 92,000 | | 2. | Krakatau, Indonesia | August 26 - August 27, 1883 | 36,417 | | 3. | Martinique, West Indies | May 8, 1902 | 29,025 | | 4. | Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia | November 13, 1985 | 21,800 | | 5. | Mount Etna, Sicily | March 24, 1669 | 20,000 | Analysis - It seems that floods are the most deadly types of natural disasters, with all five of the deadliest floods appearing in the top ten deadliest disasters of all time.
- Of the 40 ranked disasters, 9 occurred in China, and 22 occurred in Asia. 8 occurred in Europe, 5 in North America, 5 in South America, and none in Africa or Australia. All of the top ten disasters occurred in Asia.
- Major disasters of various types seem to be concentrated in specific places. For example, all of the top five floods occurred in China, all of the top five tornados occurred in the U.S.A., and all of the worst tropical cyclones occurred in Southeast Asia. This doesn't mean that these types of disasters don't occur elsewhere, just that the most deadly ones seem to occur in the same places over and over.
Notes - Items which could be considered in more than one category (such as an earthquake which causes a landslide or a tsunami) have only been counted once. For example, the 1920 earthquake/landslide in Kansu, China, killed 180,000 people, making it the worst landslide and the 3rd worst earthquake; however it is only on the list as an earthquake. The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami killed over 250,000 people, making it the worst tsunami and second worst earthquake; however it is counted as a tsunami because the primary cause of death was from the waves triggered by the earthquake.
- These disasters occurred during recorded history. Obviously, disasters occurring at times and places with quality record keeping are more likely to be listed than disasters that occurred at times and places with poor or no records.
- In cases where disasters had a death toll within a range, the highest number was used for ranking purposes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worst_natural_disasters
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