What is the deadliest natural disaster in history?

The 1931 China floods are considered the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history, with estimates from 1 million to 4 million deaths from flooding, famine and disease along the Yangtze and Huai rivers.

What was the deadliest earthquake ever recorded?

The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake in China, which killed an estimated 830,000 people, mostly through the collapse of cave dwellings carved into soft loess cliffs.

What is the deadliest tropical cyclone in history?

The 1970 Bhola cyclone, which struck what is now Bangladesh and killed an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people.

What is the worst industrial accident in history?

The 1984 Bhopal gas disaster in India, where a methyl isocyanate leak exposed more than half a million people.

The historical record

Deadliest Incidents In History

An archive of 57 recorded disasters — natural catastrophes, industrial accidents, transport disasters, fires, crowd crushes and epidemics. Every event has its own page. Our own hand-written records come first; the rest are imported from Wikidata and Wikipedia.

1986

Nuclear / Radiological 31 direct; thousands attributed long-term deaths

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster — Ukraine

Reactor No. 4 exploded during a safety test, spreading radioactive contamination across Europe.

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2011

Nuclear / Radiological 1 radiation-attributed; ~2,300 evacuation-related deaths

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident — Japan

Tsunami flooding disabled backup power, causing meltdowns in three reactors and a mass long-term evacuation.

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History is still being written

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