Haiyun Earthquake (China 1920) - 240,000 dead, 7. In the 12 months following the attacks, an estimated 1,595 more Americans died in car accidents because they were afraid to fly on planes.
", "The Opportunity of a Disaster: The Economic Impact of the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake. They yelled, “We don’t want another Superdome!” and chased the people off. In 1989, after the death of the controversial figure Hu Yaobang, Chinese students marched out to Tiananmen Square and tried to force real change in China. He never actually served the time, though. The White Star Line was nothing if not frugal. sank down to the earth and covered the sea.”. A natural hazard is a naturally-occurring event that poses a threat to human life or property. After the massacre, some sources reported that the government billed the victims’ families for the cost of the bullets. In 1890, US troops attacked an innocent Lakota camp. Compared to the people in Herculaneum, though, Pompeii got off easy.

The potential impact of a natural disaster depends on the size and location of the event. Tangshan Earthquake (China 1976) - 242,000 dead, 6.

Terrible stuff, probably one of the worst 'disasters' in human history. ), though these may have numbered in the millions; see List of volcanic eruptions by death toll.This list takes into account only the highest estimated death toll for each disaster, and lists them accordinglyThis list does not include epidemics and famines.This list names event considered as a single event within one year.The 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).An alternative listing is given by Peter Hough in his 2008 book Global Security.[1]. Killed more in 1 year than the bubonic plague did in 100 years. That doesn’t mean that everyone got off easy. At such incredible temperatures, their teeth cracked, their skin burned off, and their bones turned black. Another man, Lieutenant Garlington, was awarded for blocking off the escape of fleeing victims. Consequently, the casualty figures for all events listed are considered unofficial. In the city of Strasbourg, it became law that no Jew should enter the city for 100 years. There is often a relationship between past events and future events and some areas are more prone to natural disasters (​floodplains, on fault lines, or in areas previously destroyed), but the fact remains that we cannot predict or control natural events, therefore, we remain vulnerable to the threat of natural hazards and the impacts of natural disasters.

The Black Death wiped out between 75 and 200 million people in the mid-1300s.

Some events may belong in more than one category. Note: Some of these famines may have been caused or partially caused by humans. 10. | Dealing with the Deluge", "Top 11 Deadliest Natural Disasters in History", "Haiphong cyclone | tropical cyclone, Pacific Ocean [1881]", "Death toll of 1920 China earthquake higher than previously estimated", "Global Catastrophe Recap: December 2014", "Syria: Halab (Aleppo), Dimashq (Damascus) Earthquake of 1169", "What was the magnitude of the Syria: Halab (Aleppo), Dimashq (Damascus) Earthquake in 1169?

Discussion Paper 06/03, Centre for Historical Economics and Related Research at York, York University, 2006", "How many casualties did the Tunisia: Tunis; Syria; Egypt; Yemen Earth...", http://earthquakes.findthedata.org/l/1220/Egypt-Al-qahirah-cairo, "SAGE Reference - Encyclopedia of Disaster Relief", Dimensions of need – People and populations at risk, "Reported Deaths and Injuries from Meteorite Impact", "Some interesting meteorite falls of the last two centuries", "Camp Fire is deadliest U.S. wildfire in 100 years; eerily similar to 1918 inferno that killed 453", "Capter 3 It Only Takes A Spark: The Hazard of Wildfires", "5th Deadliest Wildfire Globally in Past 100 Years: 87 Dead from Monday's Greek Fires", "Debris-flow and flooding hazards associated with the December 1999 storm in coastal Venezuela and strategies for mitigation", "The Tragedy of Khait: A Natural Disaster in Tajikistan", 10.1659/0276-4741(2000)021[0091:TTOKAN]2.0.CO;2, "Overview of catastrophic landslides of South America in the twentieth century", "Flood Facts, Types of Flooding, Floods in History", "You're experiencing world's 5th deadliest heatwave ever", "Heatstroke Deaths Quadruple as Japan Shuns Air Conditioners to Save Power", "Reassessing the Global Mortality Burden of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic", "UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic 2010", Infectious Diseases: Plague Through History, "Large epidemics of hemorrhagic fevers in Mexico 1545–1815", "Megadrought and Megadeath in 16th Century Mexico", "Typhus and its control in Russia, 1870–1940", "The Worst Natural Disasters by Death Toll", "Historical Deadly Typhoons in the Philippines", "Written records of historical tsunamis in the northeastern South China Sea", "Krakatoa Volcano: Facts About Deadly Eruption", "Benchmarks: May 8, 1902: The deadly eruption of Mount Pelée", "BBC ON THIS DAY | 13 | 1985: Volcano kills thousands in Colombia", "Mount Unzen eruption of 1792 | Japanese history", "What is the largest eruption ever? It burned the tops of buildings off completely and then touched on the people below.

That black cloud hit Herculaneum and covered the whole city. in Geography from the University of Denver. This is a list of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll.Anthropogenic means caused by humans. An entire city was leveled under a sea of volcanic ash that killed thousands. British diplomats, though, ordered him not to. Most of the people were unarmed, but the troops ran as many down as possible, slaughtering approximately 200 innocent men, women, and children. We like to imagine that we learn from our tragedies—that when the worst moment comes, people change their ways and start working together to make things right. To be classified as a disaster, it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently causes financial loss. Then it was, in the eyes of the people, a full-blown fact.

The courts found Calley guilty of killing 22 innocent people and sentenced him to life in prison.
Most couldn’t afford it, of course, and so today, many of those who died have memorials instead of graves.

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. It was a terrible tragedy—and like most tragedies, Europe dealt with it by blaming the Jews. Calley hung around at home for three years and then got a full presidential pardon from Richard Nixon.

He was very likely mentally handicapped or at least mentally ill. Indian Ocean Earthquake/Tsunami (Indian Ocean 2004) - 230,000 dead, 8. When the people of Ireland started to starve from the Irish Potato Famine, Abdul Medjid Khan, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, wanted to help. But instead of a welcoming party, these people found a barricade on the bridge.

They made a list of demands and led a hunger strike, hoping to bring an end to corruption and forge the first steps toward democracy. At first, it was a conspiracy theory. People left mutilated animals on his porch each morning, and he suffered PTSD for the rest of his life.

And for doing it, 20 of them were given Medals of Honor.

Advances have been made in predicting such events; however, there are very few instances of well-documented prediction.

That didn’t save anyone, though. Over the next few years, though, that death toll would become even higher.