Topzle Updated: Wikipedia source
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, cyclones, etc. To be classified as a disaster, it must have profound environmental effects or loss of life and frequently causes financial loss.
| Death toll (Highest estimate) | Event | Location | Date |
| 4,000,000 | 1931 China floods | China | July 1931 |
| 2,000,000 | 1887 Yellow River flood | September 1887 | |
| 500,000 | 1970 Bhola cyclone | East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) | November 13, 1970 |
| 316,000 | 2010 Haiti earthquake | Haiti | January 12, 2010 |
| ≈300,000 | 1976 Tangshan earthquake | China | July 28, 1976 |
| 300,000 | 526 Antioch earthquake | Byzantine Empire (now Hatay/Turkey) | May 526 |
| ≈300,000 | 1839 Coringa cyclone | Andhra Pradesh, India | November 25, 1839 |
| ≈300,000 | 1737 Calcutta cyclone | West Bengal and Bangladesh | October 1737 |
| 273,407 | 1920 Haiyuan earthquake | China | December 16, 1920 |
| 230,000 | 1139 Ganja earthquake | Seljuk Empire (present-day Azerbaijan) | September 30, 1139 |
| Year | Death tolls | Event | Countries affected | Type | Date |
| 1901 | 9,500 | 1901 eastern United States heat wave | United States | Heat wave | June–July |
| 1902 | 29,000 | 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée | Martinique | Volcanic eruption | April–August |
| 1903 | 3,500 | 1903 Manzikert earthquake | Turkey | Earthquake | April 29 |
| 1904 | 400 | 1904 Sichuan earthquake | China | August 30 | |
| 1905 | 20,000+ | 1905 Kangra earthquake | India | April 4 | |
| 1906 | 15,000 | 1906 Hong Kong typhoon | Hong Kong | Tropical cyclone | September 18 |
| 1907 | 12,000–15,000 | 1907 Qaratog earthquake | Uzbekistan | Earthquake | October 21 |
| 1908 | 75,000–82,000 | 1908 Messina earthquake | Italy | December 28 | |
| 1909 | 6,000–8,000 | 1909 Borujerd earthquake | Iran | January 23 | |
| 1910 | 2,450 | 1910 Costa Rica earthquakes | Costa Rica | May 4 | |
| 1911 | 41,072 | 1911 France heat wave | France | Heat wave | June–August |
| 1912 | 50,000–220,000 | 1912 China typhoon | China | Tropical cyclone | August 29 |
| 1913 | 942–1,900 | 1913 Eshan earthquake | Earthquake | December 21 | |
| 1914 | 2,344 | 1914 Burdur earthquake | Turkey | October 4 | |
| 1915 | 29,978-32,610 | 1915 Avezzano earthquake | Italy | January 13 | |
| 1916 | 2,000–10,000 | White Friday avalanches | Avalanche | December 13 | |
| 1917 | 1,500 | 1917 Bali earthquake | Indonesia | Earthquake | January 21 |
| 1918 | 1,000 | 1918 Shantou earthquake | China | February 13 | |
| 1919 | 5,000 | 1919 Kelud mudflow | Indonesia | Volcanic eruption | May 19 |
| 1920 | 258,707–273,407 | 1920 Haiyuan earthquake | China, Mongolia | Earthquake | December 16 |
| 1921 | 215 | September 1921 San Antonio floods | United States | Flood | September 7 –11 |
| 1922 | 50,000–100,000+ | 1922 Shantou typhoon | Philippines, China | Tropical cyclone | July 27 –August 3 |
| 1923 | 105,385-142,800 | 1923 Great Kantō earthquake | Japan | Earthquake | September 1 |
| 1924 | 1,000 | Great flood of 99 | India | Flood | July |
| 1925 | 5,000 | 1925 Dali earthquake | China | Earthquake | March 16 |
| 1926 | 709 | 1926 Havana–Bermuda hurricane | Cuba, United States, Bahamas, Bermuda | Tropical cyclone | October 14 –28 |
| 1927 | 40,912 | 1927 Gulang earthquake | China, Tibet | Earthquake | May 22 |
| 1928 | 4,112+ | 1928 Okeechobee hurricane | United States, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Bahamas, Dominica, | Tropical cyclone | September 12 –21 |
| 1929 | 3,257–3,800 | 1929 Kopet Dag earthquake | Iran, Turkmenistan | Earthquake | May 1 |
| 1930 | 2,000–8,000 | 1930 San Zenón hurricane | Dominican Republic | Tropical cyclone | September 3 |
| 1931 | 422,499–4,000,000 | 1931 China floods | China | Flood | July – November |
| 1932 | 3,103+ | 1932 Cuba hurricane | Cayman Islands, Cuba | Tropical cyclone | November 9 |
| 1933 | 6,865–9,300 | 1933 Diexi earthquake | China | Earthquake | August 25 |
| 1934 | 10,700–12,000 | 1934 Nepal–India earthquake | Nepal, India | January 15 | |
| 1935 | 145,000 | 1935 Yangtze flood | China | Flood | July 6 |
| 1936 | 5,000+ | 1936 North American heat wave | United States, Canada | Heat wave | June – September |
| 1937 | 11,021 | 1937 Great Hong Kong typhoon | China | Tropical cyclone | September 2 |
| 1938 | 715+ | 1938 Hanshin flood | Japan | Flood | July |
| 1939 | 32,700–32,968 | 1939 Erzincan earthquake | Turkey | Earthquake | December 27 |
| 1940 | 1,000 | 1940 Vrancea earthquake | Romania | November 10 | |
| 1941 | 1,200 | 1941 Jabal Razih earthquake | Yemen | January 11 | |
| 1942 | 61,000 | 1942 West Bengal cyclone | India | Tropical cyclone | October 14 – 18 |
| 1943 | 2,824-5,000 | 1943 Tosya–Ladik earthquake | Turkey | Earthquake | November 27 |
| 1944 | 10,000 | 1944 San Juan earthquake | Argentina | January 15 | |
| 1945 | 4,000 | 1945 Balochistan earthquake | Pakistan | November 28 | |
| 1946 | 2,550 | 1946 Dominican Republic earthquake | Dominican Republic | August 4 | |
| 1947 | 1,077 | Typhoon Kathleen | Japan | Tropical cyclone | September 15 |
| 1948 | 10,000–110,000 | 1948 Ashgabat earthquake | Soviet Union, Iran | Earthquake | October 6 |
| 1949 | 7,200 | 1949 Khait earthquake | Tajikistan | July 10 |
| Year | Death toll | Event | Countries affected | Type | Date |
| 2001 | 13,805–20,023 | 2001 Gujarat earthquake | India | Earthquake | January 26 |
| 2002 | 1,200 | 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes | Afghanistan | March 25 | |
| 2003 | 72,000 | 2003 European heat wave | Europe | Heat wave | July – August |
| 2004 | 227,898 | 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami | Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Maldives, Somalia | Earthquake, Tsunami | December 26 |
| 2005 | 86,000–87,351 | 2005 Kashmir earthquake | India, Pakistan | Earthquake | October 8 |
| 2006 | 5,749–5,778 | 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake | Indonesia | May 26 | |
| 2007 | 15,000 | Cyclone Sidr | Bangladesh, India | Tropical cyclone | November 11 – 16 |
| 2008 | 138,373 | Cyclone Nargis | Myanmar | April 27 – May 3 | |
| 2009 | 1,115 | 2009 Sumatra earthquakes | Indonesia | Earthquake | September 30 |
| 2010 | 100,000–316,000 | 2010 Haiti earthquake | Haiti | January 12 | |
| 2011 | 19,749 | 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami | Japan | Earthquake, Tsunami | March 11 |
| 2012 | 1,901 | Typhoon Bopha | Philippines | Tropical cyclone | December 4 – 5 |
| 2013 | 6,340 | Typhoon Haiyan | Philippines, Vietnam, China | November 8 – 10 | |
| 2014 | 2,700 | 2014 Badakhshan mudslides | Afghanistan | Landslide | May 2 |
| 2015 | 8,964 | April 2015 Nepal earthquake | Nepal, India | Earthquake | April 25 |
| 2016 | 1,111 | 2016 Indian heat wave | India | Heat wave | April – May |
| 2017 | 3,059 | Hurricane Maria | Puerto Rico, Dominica | Tropical cyclone | September 19 – 21 |
| 2018 | 4,340 | 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami | Indonesia | Earthquake, Tsunami | September 28 |
| 2019 | 3,951+ | 2019 European heat waves | Europe | Heat wave | June – July |
| 2020 | 6,511 | 2020 South Asian floods | Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka | Floods | May – October |
| 2021 | 2,248 | 2021 Haiti earthquake | Haiti | Earthquake | August 14 |
| 2022 | 24,501–70,000 | 2022 European heatwaves | Europe | Heat wave | June 12 – September 12 |
| 2023 | 59,259–62,013 | 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes | Turkey, Syria | Earthquake | February 6 |
| 2024 | 62,700 | 2024 European heatwaves | Europe | Heat wave | June – August |
| 2025 | 5,456 | 2025 Myanmar earthquake | Myanmar, Thailand | Earthquake | 28 March |
| 2026 | 400 | 2026 Rubaya mine collapse | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Landslide | January 28 |
| Rank | Death toll (estimate) | Event | Location | Date |
| 1. | 100,000 | 1786 Dadu River landslide dam; triggered by the 1786 Kangding-Luding earthquake | China | 1786 |
| 1920 Haiyuan landslides; triggered by the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake | 1920 | |||
| 3. | 70,000+ | Landslides triggered by the 1718 Tongwei–Gansu earthquake. | 1718 | |
| 4. | 22,000 | 1970 Huascarán avalanche; triggered by the 1970 Ancash earthquake | Peru | 1970 |
| 5. | 10,000–30,000 | Vargas tragedy | Venezuela | 1999 |
| 10,253 | 1815 Singaraja landslide; triggered by 1815 Bali earthquake | Indonesia | 1815 | |
| 10,000 | White Friday avalanches | Italy | 1916 | |
| 8. | 5,000–28,000 | Khait landslide | Tajikistan | 1949 |
| 9. | 4,000–6,000 | 1941 Huaraz avalanche | Peru | 1941 |
| 4,000 | 1962 Huascarán avalanche | 1962 |
| Rank | Death toll (estimate) | Event | Location | Date | Pathogen − (disease caused) |
| 1. | 75–200 million | Black Death | Europe, Asia and North Africa | 1346–1353 | Yersinia pestis − (Plague) |
| 2. | 50 million+ (17–100 million) | Spanish flu | Worldwide | 1918–1920 | Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 − (Influenza/"the flu") |
| 3. | 43 million (as of 2024) | HIV/AIDS pandemic | Worldwide | 1981–present | Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) − (HIV/AIDS) |
| 4. | 30–50 million | Plague of Justinian | Europe and West Asia | 541–542 | Yersinia pestis − (Plague) |
| 5. | 7–29 million | COVID-19 pandemic | Worldwide | 2019–present | SARS-CoV-2 − (COVID-19) |
| 6. | 12–24 million (Indian Subcontinent and China) | Third plague pandemic | Worldwide | 1855–1960 | Yersinia pestis − (Bubonic plague) |
| 7. | 5–15 million | Cocoliztli Epidemic of 1545–1548 | Mexico | 1545–1548 | Uncertain. Likely Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica − (Enteric fever) or viral hemorrhagic fever but no consensus. |
| 8. | 5–10 million | Antonine Plague | Roman Empire | 165–180 (possibly up to 190) | Likely Variola − (Smallpox), possibly alongside Measles morbillivirus − (Measles) |
| 9. | 5–8 million | 1520 Mexico smallpox epidemic | Mexico | 1519–1520 | Variola virus − (Smallpox) |
| 10. | 2 million | 1918–1922 Russia typhus epidemic | Russia | 1918–1922 | Rickettsia prowazekii − (Epidemic typhus) |