Deadliest Incidents In History

Hurricane Stan

Hurricane Stan was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. A relatively weak system that affected areas of Central America and Mexico in early October 2005, Stan was the eighteenth named storm and eleventh hurr

1973 Flores cyclone — Australia

The 1973 Flores cyclone was the deadliest known tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere. The cyclone formed in the Banda Sea on 26 April as a tropical low. It intensified as it moved in a west-southwest direction, before shifting to the

Benxihu mine disaster — China

sinking of the RMS Titanic

RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States, with over 2,200 people o

1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy — Saudi Arabia

On 2 July 1990, 1,426 people were suffocated and trampled to death in a crowd crush or stampede event in a tunnel near Mecca during the Hajj.

Shipwreck outside Visby 1566 — Denmark

Khodynka Tragedy — Russia

The Khodynka Tragedy (Russian: Ходынская трагедия) was a crowd crush that occurred on 30 May [O.S. 18 May] 1896, on Khodynka Field in Moscow, Russia. The crush happened during the festivities after the coronation of the last Emperor of Russ

1917 Taishō typhoon — Japan

October 7 attacks — Israel

The October 7 attacks were a series of coordinated armed incursions from the blockaded Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, carried out by Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups in 2023, during the Jewish holid

sinking of the RMS Lusitania — United Kingdom

RMS Lusitania was a British-registered ocean liner that was torpedoed by an Imperial German Navy U-boat during the First World War on 7 May 1915, about 11 nautical miles (20 kilometres; 13 miles) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland (then p

Tōya Maru disaster — Japan

Tōya Maru (洞爺丸) was a Japanese train ferry constructed by Japanese National Railways (JNR) which sank during Typhoon Marie, known locally as the Tōya Maru Typhoon, in the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū on

Hurricane Gordon

Hurricane Gordon was an erratic, long-lived, and catastrophic late-season hurricane in 1994. The twelfth and final tropical cyclone of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season, Gordon formed as a tropical depression in the southwestern Caribbean

Peshtigo fire — United States

The Peshtigo Fire was a wildfire on October 8, 1871, in northeastern Wisconsin, United States, including much of the southern half of the Door Peninsula and adjacent parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The largest community in the aff

2013 Savar building collapse — Bangladesh

The Rana Plaza collapse (also referred to as the Savar building collapse) occurred on 24 April 2013 in Savar Upazila, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, when the nine-story Rana Plaza commercial building collapsed due to a structural failure. The sear

2006 Southern Leyte mudslide — Philippines

On February 17, 2006, a massive rock slide-debris avalanche occurred in the Philippine province of Southern Leyte, causing widespread damage and loss of life. The deadly landslide (or debris flow) followed a 10-day period of heavy rain and

Courrières mine disaster — France

The Courrières mine disaster, Europe's worst mining accident, caused the death of 1,099 miners in Northern France on 10 March 1906. This disaster was surpassed only by the Benxihu Colliery accident in China on 26 April 1942, which killed 1

Typhoon Agnes

Typhoon Agnes, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Undang, was the fourth and final tropical cyclone to affect the Philippines during the 1984 Pacific typhoon season. An area of disturbed weather developed near the equator and the Caroline

1904 General Slocum maritime disaster — United States

Hamont train accident — Belgium

1917 Ciurea rail disaster — Romania

The Ciurea rail disaster, known in Romania as the Ciurea catastrophe (Romanian: Catastrofa de la Ciurea), occurred on 13 January 1917, during World War I, when a passenger train derailed and collided with a stationary train on another track

sinking of the SS Tanais — Greece

1908 Hong Kong Typhoon — China

The 1908 Hong Kong Typhoon was a tropical cyclone which made landfall near Hong Kong on the night of 27 July 1908. The ‌‌storm resulted in significant property damage and loss of life. The most notable occurrence of the event was the loss

1991 Kanggye Arsenal explosion — North Korea

2025 Tarasin landslide — Sudan

On 31 August 2025, a landslide destroyed the village of Tarasin (also rendered Tarseen and Tarsin) in the Marrah Mountains in Central Darfur, western Sudan, killing between 375 and 1,500 people.

Typhoon Amy

Typhoon Amy was an intense and deadly tropical cyclone that struck areas of the central Philippines in December 1951. Impacting the archipelago during the 1951 eruption of Mount Hibok-Hibok, Amy exacerbated the effects of the volcano, great

1990 Andhra Pradesh cyclone — India

The 1990 Andhra Pradesh cyclone was the worst disaster to affect Southern India since the 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone. The system was first noted as a depression on 4 May 1990, while it was located over the Bay of Bengal about 600 km (375 m

2005 Baghdad bridge stampede — Iraq

The Al-Aimmah Bridge disaster (Arabic: كارثة جسر الائمة, lit. 'Bridge of the Imams disaster') occurred on August 31, 2005 when 965 people died following a panic, and subsequent crowd crush, on the Al-Aaimmah Bridge, which crosses the Tigris

Typhoon Angela

Typhoon Angela, named Rosing by PAGASA, was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that impacted the Philippines in November 1995, and the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 1995. Typhoon Angela was the twenty-ninth

Quebec Expedition — Canada

The Quebec expedition, or the Walker expedition to Quebec, was a British attempt to attack Quebec in 1711 in Queen Anne's War, the North American theatre of the War of Spanish Succession. It failed when seven transports and one storeship w

sinking of the MS Estonia — Sweden

MS Estonia, a cruiseferry operated by Estline, sank on Wednesday, 28 September 1994, between about 00:50 and 01:50 CEST (UTC+2) as the ship was crossing the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden. The vessel was ca

1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo — Philippines

The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines' Luzon Volcanic Arc was the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, behind only the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in Alaska. Eruptive activity began on April 2 as a series o

Eastland disaster — United States

Hurricane Georges

Hurricane Georges () was a powerful and long-lived tropical cyclone which caused severe destruction as it traversed the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in September 1998, making seven landfalls along its path. Georges was the seventh tropical

Bihar train derailment — India

In the Indian state of Bihar, on June 6, 1981, a passenger train carrying more than 800 passengers between Mansi (Dhamara Pul) and Saharsa, derailed while crossing a bridge and plunged into the river Bagmati. After five days, more than 200

2007 Yazidi communities bombings — Iraq

The Qahtaniyah bombings occurred on August 14, 2007, when four coordinated suicide car bomb attacks detonated in the Yazidi towns of Til Ezer (al-Qahtaniyah) and Siba Sheikh Khidir (al-Jazirah), in northern Iraq. 796 people were killed and

Struma disaster — Turkey

The Struma disaster was the sinking on 24 February 1942 of the ship MV Struma which had been trying to take nearly 800 Jewish refugees from the Axis member Romania to Mandatory Palestine. She was a small iron-hulled ship of only 240 GRT and

Typhoon Yagi — Philippines

Typhoon Yagi was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage in Southeast Asia and South China in early September 2024. Known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Enteng and in Vietnam as Typhoon No. 3 of 2024 (Vietnames

1640 Komagatake tsunami — Japan

Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm fire — China

The 61st Regiment Farm fire occurred on 18 February 1977, at a frontier farm outside of Khorgos, Xinjiang, China. The fire broke out during a movie screening at the communal hall for Chinese New Year, when a 12-year-old audience member set

Ufa train disaster — Russia

The Ufa train disaster was a railway accident that occurred in the Iglinsky District of the Bashkir ASSR, Soviet Union on 4 June 1989, killing 575 people and injuring 800 more. It is the second-deadliest rail disaster in Soviet/Russian hist

Iroquois Theatre fire — United States

The Iroquois Theatre fire was a catastrophic building fire in Chicago, Illinois, that broke out on December 30, 1903, during a performance attended by 1,700 people. The fire caused 602 deaths and 250 non-fatal injuries. It ranks as the wors

Hurricane Matthew — Bahamas

Hurricane Matthew was a powerful and devastating tropical cyclone which caused catastrophic damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as widespread devastation across Cuba, the Bahamas, and the southeastern United States. The deadl

Guadalajara train disaster — Mexico

The Guadalajara train disaster occurred in the Mexican state of Jalisco on January 22, 1915, and killed over 600 people. The Mexican Revolution was in full swing by 1915. After the assassination of Francisco Madero two years earlier, the pr

Vereshchyovka train disaster — Russia

The Vereshchyovka train disaster was a railway accident that occurred near Vereshchyovka in Oryol Oblast, Soviet Union on 24 January 1944. Sources estimate that over 600 people died in the wreck, making it the deadliest train disaster in So

Typhoon Irma

Typhoon Irma, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Anding, was a powerful typhoon that struck the Philippines in November 1981. The twenty-fifth named storm and fourteenth typhoon of the 1981 Pacific typhoon season, Irma originated fro

October 2017 Mogadishu bombings — Somalia

On 14 October 2017, two truck bombings took place in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, killing at least 587 people and injuring 316 others. Almost all of the casualties were caused by one of the trucks which detonated when the driver, whil

sinking of the Ertuğrul — Japan

Tenerife airport disaster — Spain

On 27 March 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on a runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife, killing 583 people and injuring 61 others in the deadliest accide

Texas City disaster — United States

The Texas City disaster was an industrial accident that occurred on April 16, 1947, in the port of Texas City, Texas, United States, located in Galveston Bay. It was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history and one of history's lar

Nirim attack — Israel

On 7 October 2023, a surprise assault was launched on Israel by Hamas militants coming from the Gaza Strip. One of their targets was Nirim, a kibbutz located in the southern part of Israel, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the border with G

1992 Zangon Kataf crises — Nigeria

The genesis of the 1992 Zangon Kataf crises could at least be traced to the onset of the British imperial regime in the Northern Region of Nigeria, in which the Atyap people began reporting the loss of land to the Hausas. In 1922, it was re

Oppau explosion — Germany

The Oppau explosion occurred on September 21, 1921, when approximately 4,500 tonnes of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate fertilizer stored in a tower silo exploded at a BASF plant in Oppau, now part of Ludwigshafen, Germany

Cyclone Idai — Mozambique

Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai () was one of the costliest and deadliest tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage, and a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique, Zimb

Aleppo bombings — Syria

The Aleppo bombings (April–July 2016) were intense bombardments on both rebel and government-held areas in the city of Aleppo, Syria starting in late April 2016. Some rebel shelling also hit a Kurdish-held part of the city. The bombings dec

Japan Air Lines Flight 123 — Japan

Japan Air Lines Flight 123 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Tokyo to Osaka, Japan. On the evening of Monday, August 12, 1985, the Boeing 747 flying the route suffered a severe structural failure and explosive decompression 12

2010 Chile earthquake — Chile

On 27 February 2010 at 03:34 UTC−03:00, a Mww 8.8 megathrust earthquake struck off the coast of the Maule Region of central Chile. One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, it lasted approximately three minutes and was felt across

Balvano train disaster — Italy

The Balvano train disaster occurred on the night between 2–3 March 1944 in Balvano, Basilicata, when 517 people in a steam-hauled, coal-burning freight train (mostly stowaways) died of carbon monoxide poisoning during a protracted stall in

Sampoong Department Store collapse — South Korea

On June 29, 1995, the Sampoong Department Store (Korean: 삼풍백화점; Hanja: 三豐百貨店) in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea, collapsed due to a structural failure. The collapse killed 502 people and injured 937, making it the largest peacetime dis

Torre del Bierzo rail disaster — Spain

The Torre del Bierzo rail disaster occurred on 3 January 1944 near the village of Torre del Bierzo in the El Bierzo region of Spain's León province when three trains collided and caught fire inside a tunnel. Although the official death toll

San Juanico disaster — Mexico

The San Juanico disaster involved a series of fires and explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank farm in the settlement of San Juan Ixhuatepec (popularly known as San Juanico), a municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz, State of Mexic