Top 10 Worst Natural Disasters

4. Bhola Cyclone – 1970

The worst tropical cyclone disaster ever recorder, the Bhola Cyclone hit Bangladesh, then East Pakistan, on November 12th, 1970. A storm surge swept across the low elevation islands in  Gangas Delta, and led to an estimated 500,000 deaths. This being one of the more recent natural disasters, there was more warning than had been with the previously listed. While there was much warning, little preparation was taken as well as little response afterwards. The Pakistani government received much criticism over it’s handling of the event, and is considered the primary cause of the Bangladesh Liberation War. This is the first natural disaster to cause a civil war.

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5. India Cyclone – 1893

There is not a great deal of information regarding the India Cyclone of 1893, which took place on November 25th. The cyclone claimed roughly 300,000 lives when a 40ft storm surge nearly wiped out the town of Coringa, India, this being the town had been hit in 50 years. The town had never been fully rebuilt after the first event in 1789, which claimed the lives of 20,000.

6. Antioch Earthquake – 526

Antioch, Turkey, a great city that rivaled Alexandria during it’s time, was great damaged during the earthquake, and never fully recovered despite efforts from several rulers over the years. The earthquake claimed roughly 250,000 to 300,000 lives on May 31st, 526.

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7. Tangshan Earthquake – 1976

Believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century, the earthquake started near Tangshan Hebei and claimed up to 255,000 lives, injuring another 164,000. This 8.2 magnitude earthquake started at 3:42 AM local time, and lasted only 10 seconds. This event is a good example of the benefits of being prepared, as many counties had prepared for the predicted earthquake up to 2 years in advance, and it is widely believed that this readiness actually saved many lives.

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8. Haiyuan Earthquake – 1920

The Haiyuan Earthquake was also known as the Gansu Earthquake, as Haiyuan County, Ningxia, was a part of of Gansu at the time. The earthquake started at 8:06 PM local time, and is said to have ranged from 7.8 to 8.5 on the Richter scale. There was an estimated total of 234,000 deaths, making this the 4th deadliest earthquake of all time.

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9. Banqio Dam Flood – 1975

This dam, as well as the Shimantan Reservoir Dam two of the sixty-two dams that failed during Typhoon Nina the China province of Henan. The Banqio dam was designed to survive 12in of rainfall per day, however  in August of 1975, a flood poured more than a years worth of rain in under 24 hours. Facing 7.6in of rainfall per hour, the dam collapsed, killing nearly 230,000.

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10. Indian Ocean Tsunami – 2004

The most recent of all major natural disasters on this list, the tsunami caused by an earthquake,  known as the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake, off the west coast of India claimed roughly 229,000 lives. With modern day communications this event was witnessed by the entire world shortly afterwards and the worldwide community raised over $7,000,000,000 in aid. The energy released by the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake was equal to over 1500 times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and caused  tsunami that reached speeds up to 600+ mph at a height of up to 100 ft. While ample technology existed for advanced detection of tsunamis, though only providing a relatively short warning as it is, none of it was in place in the Indian Ocean at the time.

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Conclusion:

While there are still many tragedies that continue to take place world wide, we are learning more and more of ways to protect ourselves against the natural ones. The next step, is to learn to protect us from ourselves.