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526 BCE
Antioch Earthquake
Location: Byzantine Empire (now Turkey)
This earthquake killed approximately 250,000 people. The earthquake was followed by a fire that destroyed most of the buildings left standing by the earthquake. -
Jan 23, 1556
Shaanxi Earthquake
Location: China
Approximately 830,000 people on record were killed, which makes this one of the largest earthquakes. In some countries as much as 60% of their population was killed. -
India Cyclone
Location: It hit the harbor village of Coringa, located in Andhra Pradesh, India.
The cyclone triggered a 40-foot-wave that destroyed much of the village and most of the ships near the area, with about 20,000 people drowning at sea. An estimated total of 300,000 people died because of the cyclone. -
The Great Fires of 1871
Location: Upper Midwest USA
Destroyed thousands of buildings, killed an estimated 300 people and caused an estimated $200 million in damages. Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire, but other theories hold that humans or even a meteor might have been responsible for the event that left an area of about four miles long and almost a mile wide of the Windy City, including its business district, in ruins. -
Yellow River Flood
Location: China
This river is prone to flooding due to the elevated nature of the river, running between dikes above the broad plains surrounding it. The flood killed some 900,000 people. -
Haiyuan Earthquake
Location: Republic of China
Today's Chinese media claim the earthquake was of magnitude 8.5, although the scale is not specified. Over 73,000 people were killed in Haiyuan County. More than 30,000 people were killed in Guyuan County. -
China Floods
Location: China
The floods are generally considered among one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded. Estimates of the total death toll range from 145,000 to between 3.7 million and 4 million. -
Bhola Cyclone
Location: East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
It remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern times. Up to 500,000 people lost their lives in the storm. The cyclone formed over the central Bay of Bengal on November 8 and traveled north. -
Tangshan Earthquake
Location: China
This was believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century by death toll.the death rate was estimated to have been 650,000. A further 164,000 were recorded as being injured. -
Hurricane Katrina
Location: The primary areas that were affected were southeastern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, the parishes of St. Tammany (Slidell), Jefferson (Gretna), Terrebonne (Houma), Plaquemines (Buras), Lafourche (Thibodaux), and St. Bernard (Chalmette).
The deadliest hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, it was ranked as the sixth strongest overall to hit the United States. It was also one of the costliest with estimated property damages of US $81 billion.
