List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll

List of natural disasters by death toll

List of natural disasters by death toll

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A natural disaster is a sudden event that 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 must have profound environmental effects and/or loss of life and frequently causes financial loss.

Global multihazard mortality risks and distribution (2005) for cyclones, drought, earthquakes, floods, landslides, and volcanoes (excluding heat waves, snowstorms, and other deadly hazards).

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 and famines. The list also does not include the 1938 Yellow River flood, which was caused by the deliberate destruction of dikes.

More information Death toll (Highest estimate), Event ...

Deadliest natural disasters by year excluding epidemics and famines

20th century

More information Year, Death toll ...

21st century

More information Year, Death toll ...

Lists of deadliest natural disasters by cause

Avalanches/landslides

Main articles: List of avalanches by death toll, List of landslides, List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll § Anthropogenically exacerbated landslides, Avalanche, and Landslide
More information Rank, Death toll (estimate) ...

Disease outbreaks

Main articles: List of epidemics, Epidemic, and Pandemic

Death counts are historical totals unless indicated otherwise. Events in boldface are ongoing.

More information Rank, Death toll (estimate) ...

Earthquakes

Main articles: Lists of earthquakes § Deadliest earthquakes, and Earthquake
More information Rank, Death toll (estimate) ...

Famines

Main articles: List of famines, List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll § Anthropogenically exacerbated famines, and Famine

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.

More information Rank, Death toll ...

Floods

Main articles: List of floods, List of deadliest floods, List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll § Anthropogenically exacerbated floods, and Flood

Note: Some of these floods and landslides may be partially caused by humans – for example, by failure of dams, levees, seawalls or retaining walls.
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).

More information Rank, Death toll ...

Heat waves

Main articles: List of heat waves and Heat wave

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.

More information Rank, Death toll ...

Limnic eruptions

Main article: Limnic eruption

Note: Only 2 cases in recorded history.

More information Rank, Death toll ...

Tornadoes

Main articles: List of tornadoes causing 100 or more deaths and Tornado
See also: List of deadliest Storm Prediction Center days by outlook risk level
More information Rank, Death toll ...

Tropical cyclones

See also: List of the deadliest tropical cyclones and Tropical cyclone

Note: Earlier versions of this list have included the so-called 'Bombay Cyclone of 1882' in tenth position, but this supposed event has been proven to be a hoax.

More information Rank, Death toll ...

Tsunamis

See also: List of tsunamis and Tsunami

Note: A possible tsunami in 1782 that caused about 40,000 deaths in the Taiwan Strait area may have been of "meteorological" origin (a cyclone).[58]

More information Rank, Death toll ...

Volcanic eruptions

Main articles: List of volcanic eruptions by death toll and Volcanic eruption
More information Rank, Death toll ...

Wildfires

Main articles: List of wildfires and Wildfire
See also: List of deadliest Storm Prediction Center days by outlook risk level
More information Rank, Death toll ...

Winter storms

Main articles: List of blizzards, Blizzard, and Winter storm
More information Rank, Death toll (estimate) ...

See also

Other lists organized by death toll

Notes

  1. Estimate by Nova's sources are close to 4  million and yet Encarta's sources report as few as 1  million. Expert estimates report wide variance.

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