After the birth of mankind, violent natural disasters have become an inescapable part of human life, but the death toll caused by the oldest natural disasters has been lost in the long river of history. For example, around 1500 BC, it is believed that a volcanic eruption completely destroyed the island of Stroggli in the Mediterranean, followed by a tsunami that completely wiped out the entire Cretan civilization. How many people died at that time? We have no way of knowing
As for other disasters, historians can at least estimate the death toll. The next 11 natural disasters mentioned are the deadliest because they all have fairly accurate fatalities. What about the lessons? While the chaos caused by natural disasters makes it impossible to know the exact number of deaths, earthquakes and floods are likely to be the deadliest of them
11. Aleppo earthquake, Syria (1138) a death toll disputed On October 11, 1138, an earthquake occurred in Aleppo, Syria. The city, which sits at the crossroads of the Arabian and African plates, is prone to earthquakes, but this one was particularly severe. Due to the age, we do not know the magnitude of the earthquake, but chronicles compiled at the time record the collapse of castles and houses in the city of Aleppo. According to the 2004 Geophysical Chronicle, the death toll of the earthquake was about 230,000, but this figure was estimated in the 15th century, and historians at the time probably confused the Aleppo earthquake with another earthquake in Georgia
10. Haiti earthquake (2010)
If the death toll from the Aleppo earthquake is wrong, the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti may be a top 10 contender on the list of the deadliest natural disasters. Even large-scale disasters in modern times can be a difficult job. In the year following the quake, the Haitian government estimated that the earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale and its aftershocks killed 230,000 people.
In January 2011, officials revised the death toll to 316,000, but the figure is highly controversial. The 2010 issue of the journal Medicine, Conflict and Survival put that number at about 160,000. A draft USAID report in 2011 said the figure was lower, at about 46,000 to 850,000, reflecting the difficulty of counting deaths even in modern times, let alone the political wrangling over "official" figures. Many Haitian commentators argue that the Haitian government corrected and raised the death toll to ensure long-term international assistance. Another aspect of the controversy is accusing USAID of leaking report data to discredit the Haitian government, according to the Columbian Journalism Review
9. Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean (2004) On December 26, 2004, a major earthquake measuring 9.3 on the Richter scale struck the bottom of the western coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that affected 14 countries and killed between 230,000 and 280,000 people. In some places, especially in Indonesia, which was the hardest hit, the height of the tsunami was nearly 30 meters. Indonesia has the highest death toll of all countries affected, with a total of 126,473 deaths and 93,943 missing according to official figures. Sri Lanka had the second highest death toll, with a total of 36,594 dead or missing.
8. Haiyuan County Earthquake, Ningxia, China (1920)
On December 16, 1920, a powerful earthquake struck Haiyuan County in central China. According to research presented in 2010 at a conference to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Haiyuan earthquake, 273,400 people died in the quake, most of them buried by landslides triggered by the earthquake, which had a magnitude of about 7.8 on the Richter scale and was felt from the Yellow River to Qinghai Province on the Tibetan Plateau, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded that the earthquake destroyed four cities and buried several towns and villages
7. Tangshan Earthquake (1976)
At 3:42 a.m. on January 28, 1976, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck the city of Tangshan and its surroundings. Tangshan, an industrial city with a population of nearly a million, officially killed a staggering 255,000 and another 700,000 injured. According to that historical record, many buildings in Tangshan were completely destroyed in the earthquake, and in the six years after the earthquake, 150,000 people moved into new homes
6. Antioch earthquake, ancient Syria (526)
Like earthquakes that have occurred in history, the exact death toll from the Antioch earthquake in 526 AD is difficult to calculate. But according to the chroniclers of the time, John Malalas, in May 526, an earthquake struck the Byzantine city, killing about 250,000 people. Malalas attributed the disaster to the wrath of God, and it was not the earthquake but the wrath of God that destroyed everything in Antioch.
According to a 2007 article in the Journal of Medieval History, the earthquake would not have killed so many people at other times of the year, as many tourists made a point of visiting Antioch in May to celebrate Ascension
5. Cyclone Klinga, India (1839) / Haiphong Typhoon, Vietnam (1881)
According to the Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States , a 12-meter-high storm surge generated by a cyclone hit the Indian seaport city of Kolinga on November 25, 1839. About 20,000 ships were destroyed and about 300,000 died. Also competing for fifth place on this list was the typhoon that swept through the Vietnamese city of Haiphong on October 8, 1881, which also killed about 300,000 people.
4. Cyclone Pola, East Pakistan (1970)
Another death toll was Cyclone Bora on November 12, 1970. The cyclone, which hit what is now Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), swept up a 20-foot storm surge into the lower elevations of the Bay of Bengal, causing widespread flooding. A 1971 report from the U.S. National Hurricane Center and the Pakistan Meteorological Service revealed the challenges of estimating the death toll, especially since it was the rice harvest season and the influx of seasonal workers. In any case, estimates of the death toll from this cyclone range from as low as 300,000 to as high as 500,000. 3. Shaanxi Earthquake, China (1556)
The worst earthquake in history occurred on January 23, 1556 in Shaanxi, China. Because it occurred during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, it is also known as the Jiajing earthquake. According to the Science Museum of China, the earthquake reduced an area of 1,000 square kilometers to rubble. About 830,000 people died in the collapsed houses and fires that raged in the aftermath of the quake. The exact magnitude of the earthquake has been lost in history, but geophysicists now speculate that the quake should have magnitude around 8 on the Richter scale.
2. The Great Flood of the Yellow River, China (1887)
In the late 80s of the 19th century, the course of the Yellow River in China was much higher than in its surroundings. Because the Yellow River flows through large areas of agricultural land in central China, people frequently build embankments to protect the Yellow River. Over time, sediment from the Yellow River silted up near the dikes, raising the riverbed. According to Greenwood Publishing Group's 2008 Encyclopedia of Disasters: Natural Disasters and Human Tragedy, in September 1887, torrential rains caused the Yellow River to soar, eventually bursting its banks and flooding about 12,949 square kilometers of lowland in the surrounding area, killing about 900,000 people
1. Floods of the Yangtze River, China (1931)
The deadliest natural disaster in history is likely to be the 1931 flood in China. In July and August of that year, the Yangtze River burst its banks due to snowmelt in spring and days of torrential rain (the water level of the Yellow River and other large water systems also reached its maximum). According to Natural Disasters in China: The 1931 Yangtze River Flood, published by Cambridge Press in 2018, flooding nearly 180,000 square kilometers, the Yangtze River has become like a huge lake, even an ocean. The death toll varies widely, with China's interim government officially giving about 2 million deaths and almost 3.7 million deaths according to NOAA