Chemistry - List of wars and disasters by death toll

(Redirected from Death toll)

A death toll is the number of dead as a result of war, violence, accident, natural disaster, extreme weather, or disease.

Below is a list of death tolls for various infamous incidents. Most numbers are estimates and are often in dispute. The incidents are ranged by the highest estimate given.

Some events overlap categories.

Deaths caused by humans

War and military action

These figures include deaths of civilians from disease, famine and atrocities as well as deaths of soldiers in battle.

50,000,000–60,000,000 - World War II (1937–1945), (see World War II casualties)
30,000,000–60,000,000 - Mongol Conquests (13th century)
33,000,000–36,000,000 - An Lushan Rebellion (756–763)
25,000,000 - Manchu Conquest of Ming China (1616–1644)
20,000,000 - Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864)
15,000,000–20,000,000 - World War I (1914–1918) (see World War I casualties)
17,000,000 - Timur Lenk's conquests (1370–1405)
10,000,000+ - Sino-Japanese War (1931–1942)
5,000,000–9,000,000 - Russian Civil War (1917–1921)
3,000,000–8,000,000 - Thirty Years War (1618–1648)
1,300,000–6,100,000 - Chinese Civil War (1928–1949) note that this figure excludes World War II casualties
- 300,000–3,100,000 before 1937
- 1,000,000–3,000,000 after World War II
4,000,000 - Napoleonic Wars (1804–1815)
3,800,000 - Second Congo War (1998–2004)
2,500,000–3,500,000 - Korean War (1950–1953)
2,300,000–3,100,000 - Vietnam War (entire war 1945–1975)
- 300,000–1,300,000 - First Indochina War (1945–1954)
- 100,000–300,000 - Vietnamese Civil War (1954–1960)
- 1,750,000–2,100,000 - American phase (1960–1973)
- 170,000 - Final phase (1973–1975)
- 175,000–1,150,000 - Secret War (1962–1975)
2,000,000–4,000,000 - French Wars of Religion (1562–1598)
300,000–3,000,000 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War
1,500,000–2,000,000 - Afghanistan (1979–2001)
- 1,000,000–1,500,000 Soviet intervention (1979–1989)
300,000–2,000,000 - Mexican Revolution (1910–1920)
230,000–1,400,000 - Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991)
1,000,000–1,200,000 - Seven Years' War (1756–1763)
1,000,000 - Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988)
1,000,000 - Sudanese Civil War (1983–2002)
1,000,000 - Biafran War (1967–1970)
1,000,000 - Aztec conquests (1427–1519)
100,000–1,000,000 - Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962)
900,000–1,000,000 - Mozambique Civil War (1976–1993)
400,000–1,000,000 - War of the Triple Alliance in Paraguay (1864–1870)
360,000–1,000,000 - Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
800,000 - Congo Civil War (1991–1997)
200,000–800,000 - Warlord era in China (1917–1928)
558,052 - American Civil War (1861–1865)
550,000 - Somalian Civil War (1988 - )
500,000 - Angolan Civil War (1975–2002)
500,000 - Ugandan Civil War (1979–1986)
270,000–300,000 - Crimean War (1854–1856)
300,000 - First Burundi Civil War (1972)
220,000 - Liberian Civil War (1989 - )
200,000 - Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2000)
200,000 - Guatemaltec Civil War (1960–1996)
190,000 - Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871)
150,000 - North Yemen Civil War (1962–1970)
150,000 - Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
30,000–100,000 - American led invasion and occupation of Iraq (2003 - )
100,000 - Gulf War (1991)
75,000 - Ethiopia–Eritrea War (1998–2000)
75,000 - Second Boer War (1898–1902)
35,000 - Finnish Civil War (1918)
30,000 - Sino-Vietnamese War (1979)
13,000 - South Yemen Civil War (1986)
7,000 - Kosovo War (1996–1999) (disputed)
5,000 - Turkish invasion of Cyprus (1974)
3,000 - Northern Ireland conflict. 1969 - 1998
3,000 - Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire (2002 - )
2,000 - Football War (1969)
1,500 - Romanian Revolution (December 1989)
1,000 - Zapatista uprising in Chiapas (1994)
1,000 - Falklands War (1982)
537–3,000 - Operation Just Cause (Panama, 1989)

Individual battles and sieges

800,000–1,600,000 - Battle of Stalingrad (1942–1943)
670,000–1,500,000 - Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944)
700,000 - Battle of Moscow (1941–1942)
400,000–680,000 - Battle of Kiev (1941)
500,000 - Battle of Smolensk (1941)
370,000 - Battle of Voronezh (1942)
370,000 - Battle of Belorussia (1941)
175,000–350,000 - Operation Bagration (1944)
230,000–350,000 - Battle of Kursk (1943)
300,000 - Battle of the Somme (1916)
270,000 - Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive (1942)
270,000 - Battle of West Ukraine (1944)
260,000 - Battle of Verdun (1916)
260,000 - Battle of the Caucasus (1942)
165,000–300,000 Battle of Chalons (451)
230,000 - Battle of Berlin (1945)
200,000 - Siege of Tenochtitlan (1520–1521)
190,000 - Battle of West Ukraine (1941)
180,000 - Battle of France (1940)
170,000 - Battle of the Lower Dnieper (1943)
170,000 - Battle of Königsberg (1945)
150,000 - Battle of Rostov (1941)
150,000 - Battle of Okinawa (1945)
150,000 - Battle of Passchendaele (1917)
132,000 - Battle of Normandy (1944)
130,000 - Battle of Gallipoli (1916)
130,000 - Battle of Budapest (1945)
125,000 - Battle of Lemberg (1914)
115,000 - Battle of the Frontiers (1914)
100,000 - Battle of Chernikov-Poltava (1943)
100,000 - Battle of Smolensk (1943)
90,000 - Battle of the Aisne (1917)
83,000 - Battle of the Baltic (1941)
80,000 - Battle of the Somme (1918)
80,000 - Battle of the Marne (1918)
75,000 - Battle of Arras (1917)
74,000 - Battle of Polyarnoe-Karelia (1941)
72,000+ - Battle of Belgorod (1943)
70,000 - Second Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)
70,000 - Second Battle of Anchialus (917)
69,000 - Battle of Leyte (1944)
66,000 - Battle of Donbass (1943)
56,000–66,000 - Battle of Cannae (216 BC)
65,000 - Battle of Lvov-Sandomir (1944)
64,000 - Battle of the Aisne (1918)
62,000 - Battle of Artois (1915)
61,000 - Battle of the Baltic (1944)
60,000 - Battle of Basra (1985–1988)
60,000 - Battle of Monte Cassino (1944)
60,000 - Battle of Arras (1917)
60,000 - First Battle of Ypres (1914)
60,000 - Battle of Champagne (1915)
40,000–56,000 - Tet Offensive (1968)
55,000 - Korsun Pocket (1944)
55,000 - Battle of Voronezh (1943)
50,000 - Meuse-Argonne offensive (1918)
50,000 - Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo (1917)
50,000 - Battle of Hsuchow (1927)
30,000–50,000 - Battle of Naissus (268)
45,000 - Fourth Battle of Kharkov (1943)
44,000 - Battle of the Crimea (1944)
42,000 - Battle of the Seelow Heights (1945)
40,000 - Battle of Imphal
38,000 - Battle of the Bulge (1944–1945)
37,000 - Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
36,500 - Battle of the Ebro (1938)
35,000 - Battle of Mukden (1905)
32,000 - Battle of Lepanto (1571)
31,000 - Battle of Thapsus (46 BC)
31,000 - Battle of Taierzhuang (1937)
30,000 - Battle of Saipan (1944)
30,000 - Battle of Konotop (1659)
30,000 - Battle of Marignan (1515)
30,000 - Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9)
20,000–30,000 - Battle of Munda (45 BC)
25,000 - Battle of Pydna (168 BC)
26,000 - Katyn Massacre (1940)
22,500 - Battle of Leipzig (1813)
20,000 - Battle of the Trebia (218 BC)
18,500 - Battle of Borodino (1812)
16,500 - Battle of Halhin Gol (1939)
15,000 - Battle of Lake Trasimene (217 BC)
14,000 - Battle of Waterloo (1815)
11,000 - Battle of Heraclea (180 BC)
11,000 - Siege of Petersburg, Virginia (1864–1865)
7,000–11,000 - Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC)
10,500 - Battle of Asculum (279 BC)
10,360 - Battle of Mons Graupius (83 or 84)
10,000 - Battle of the Metaurus (207 BC)
10,000 - Battle of Celaya (1913)
8,700 - Battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BC)
7,058 - Battle of Gettysburg (1863)
6,592 - Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
5,350+ - Battle of Suomussalmi (1939–1940)
5,000+ - Battle of Dara (530)
5,000+ - Battle of Dyrrhachium (1081)
4,808 - Battle of Antietam (1862)
4,329 - Battle of Isandlwana (1879)
4,175 - Battle of Leuthen (1757)
3,477 - Battle of Shiloh (1862)
3,205 - Second Battle of Bull Run (1862)
200–2,850 - Battle for Fallujah (November 8–November 14, 2004)
2,800 - Battle of Midway (1942)
2,400 - La Noche Triste (1520)
2,000+ - Battle of Manzikert (1071)
1,700 - Battle of Vicksburg (1863)
1,000+ - Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC)
868 - First Battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861)
622 - Jamestown Massacre (1622)
567 - Battle of Rorke's Drift (1879)
495 - Battle of Monongahela (1755)
383 - Battle of the Alamo (1836)
366 - Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)
350 - Battle of Spion Kop (1900)
302 - Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)

Genocide and Democide

6,000,000–60,000,000 - African and Atlantic slave trade (16th - 19th century)
3,500,000–60,000,000 - Great Purge (Soviet Union, 1930s) (Probably 20,000,000)
250,000–20,000,000 - Cultural Revolution (China, 1966 - 1976 most estimates are around 1 to 2 million)
11,000,000–19,000,000 - Slave trade in Islamic World over 1200 years (7th - 19th century)
6,000,000–12,000,000 - Nazi internments and Holocaust in Europe
- 6,000,000 - Jews
- 2,600,000–4,000,000 Soviet POWs
- 1,000,000+ - Political prisoners
- 250,000–1,000,000 Roma
- 70,000–275,000 Handicapped
- 10,000–220,000 Homosexuals
5,000,000–10,000,000 - Congo Free State, (1877 - 1908)
1,000,000–3,000,000 Armenian Massacres (1895-1923) Heavily Disputed. Most cited number is 1.5 million. The Turkish government denies the genocide and accuses the Armenians of killing Turks instead
- 30,000–300,000 - Hamidian (First Armenian) Massacre (1895-1896)
- 6,000–30,000 - 1909
- 600,000–2,000,000 - Second Armenian Massacre (1915-1918)
- 250,000–500,0000 - (1919-1923)
1,700,000 - Pol Pot's communalisation program (Cambodia, 1976-1979)
500,000–1,500,000 - Degars killed in Vietnam, (Vietnam,1975 - present)
800,000–1,000,000 - Partition of India and Pakistan, (1947-1948)
250,000–1,000,000 - Massacre of alleged communists, (Indonesia, 1965-1966)
800,000 - Genocide in Rwanda (Rwanda, 1994)
300,000 - Idi Amin's dictatorship (Uganda, 1971-1979)
220,000 - Massacre of the Helvetii (58 BC)
260,000 - Greeks killed in Asia Minor (Turkey, 1912 - 1923)
182,000 - Al-Anfal Campaign (Iraq, 1986-1989)
40,000–100,000 - Herero massacre, (Namibia, 1904-1908)
30,000 - Dictatorship of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, (Haiti, 1964 - 1971)
10,000–30,000 Argentina's Dirty War, (Argentina, 1976 - 1983)
18,000 - Duke_of_Alba (Spanish Netherlands, 1567-1573)
15,000–18,000 - Dictatorship of Fidel Castro, (Cuba, 1959 - present)
3,000 - Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (Chile, 1973 - 1990)

Individual massacres, air raids, and concentration camps

1,100,000 - Auschwitz concentration camp
700,000–1,000,000 - Treblinka extermination camp
500,000–900,000 - 1938 Huang He flood , caused by sabotage in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1938)
250,000–800,000 - Sack of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan (1258)
50,000–350,000 - Rape of Nanking (1937)
260,000 Sobibór extermination camp
66,000–237,062 - Hiroshima Bombing (Japan, 1945)
39,000–108,000 - Nagasaki Bombing (Japan, 1945)
100,000 - Manila Massacre (Manila, Philippines, 1945)
60,000–100,000 - Sack of Jerusalem, First Crusade (1099)
70,000 - Sack of Merv by Genghis Khan (1221)
70,000 - St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (France, 1572)
30,000–40,000 - massacred in Novgorod by Ivan the Terible
30,000 - Babi Yar Yom Kippur Jewish Massacre (Kiev, Ukraine, 1941)
10,000–30,000 228 Incident, (Taiwan, 1947)
25,000 - Sack of Magdeburg (Thirty Years War, Germany, 1631)
20,000 - Sack of Baghdad by Timur (1401)
20,000 - Massacre of Praga (Poland, 1794)
14,000 - Haitians massacred by Rafael Leónidas Trujillo's government. (Dominican Republic, 1937)
12,000 - La matanza (El Salvador, 1931)
10,000 - sack of Béziers (Albigensian Crusade, France, 1209)
5,000–12,000 - Massacre of Indians and Arabs in Zanzibar (Zanzibar, 1964)
7,000 - massacre in Thessalonika by Theodosius I (Byzantine Empire, 390)
7,000 - Zulus killed at the death of Nandi, mother of Shaka (1827)
5,000–7,000 - Halabja poison gas attack (Halabjah, Iraq, 1988)
328–5,500 - Sabra and Shatila Massacre (Lebanon, 1982)
1,645 - Guernica (1937)
379–1,000 - Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (Amritsar, India, 1919)
900 - El Mozote Massacre (El Salvador, 1981)
347–504 - My Lai Massacre (Vietnam, 1968)
360 - Wyoming Valley Massacre (Pennsylvania, United States, 1778)
320 - Bloody Assizes (England, 1685)
300 - Weenen Massacre (Natal, South Africa, 1838)
300 - Wounded Knee Massacre (South Dakota, United States, 1890)
100–300 - Waterloo Creek Massacre (Australia, 1838)
268 - Plan de Sánchez massacre (Guatemala, 1982)
91–200 - Kristallnacht (Germany, 1938)
150 - Sand Creek Massacre (Colorado, United States, 1864)
120 - Mountain Meadows Massacre (Utah, United States, 1857)
113 - Waxhaw Massacre (South Carolina, United States, 1780)
78 - Massacre of Glencoe (1692)
67 - Hebron 1929 Massacre (Palestine, 1929)
45–60 Acteal massacre (Mexico, 1997)

Terrorism

Note that any number of individual non-noteworthy attacks by various groups are not listed here. Generally these have been in the low to mid tens of deaths.

2,992 - September 11, 2001 attacks, (New York, Washington, DC, United States, 2001) (see Casualties)
344 - Beslan School Siege, (Beslan, Russia, 2004)
329 - Air India flight 182 (Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland, 1985)
299 - US and French barracks bombings, (Beirut, Lebanon, 1983)
270 - Pan Am Flight 103, (Lockerbie, Scotland, 1988)
257 - 1993 Mumbai bombings (Mumbai, India, 1993)
225 - 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, (Tanzania, Kenya, 1998)
220 - Kerbala and Baghdad attacks [1], (Iraq, 2004)
202 - 2002 Bali terrorist bombing, (Indonesia, 2002)
191 - 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks, (Spain, 2004)
171 - UTA Flight UT-772, (Niger, 1989)
170 - Moscow Theatre Siege, (Russia, 2002)
168 - Oklahoma City bombing, (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, 1995)
116 - Superferry 14 bombing, (Philippines, 2004)
90 - Central Bank Bombing, (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1996)
89 - Russian airplane bombings, (Russia, 2004)
86 - AMIA Bombing, (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1994)
63 - April 1983 US Embassy bombing, (Beirut, Lebanon, 1983)
57 - 2003 Istanbul Bombings, (Turkey, 2003)
52 - 2003 Mumbai bombings, (Mumbai, India, 2003)
40 - Wall Street bombing, (New York City, 1920)
34 - 2004 Sinai bombings , Taba and Nuweib , Egypt, 2004
33 - Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, (Ireland, 1974)
30 - Passover massacre, (Israel, 2002)
29 - Israeli Embassy Attack in Buenos Aires, (Argentina, 1992)
29 - Omagh Bombing, (Northern Ireland, 1998)
26 - bus No. 18 Jerusalem massacre , (Israel, 1996)
26 - Riyadh Compound Bombings, (Saudi Arabia, 2003)
23 - Jerusalem bus 2 massacre, (Israel, 2003)
22 - No. 5 bus Tel-Aviv massacre , (Israel, 1994)
22 - Tel-Aviv central bus station massacre , (Israel, 2003)
21 - Dolphinarium massacre , (Israel, 2001)
21 - Maxim restaurant suicide bombing, (Israel, 2003)
21 - Beit Lid junction massacre , (Israel, 1995)
19 - bus No. 18 Jerusalem massacre , (Israel, 1996)
19 - Patt junction massacre , (Israel, 2002)
19 - Birmingham pub bombing, (England, 1974)
18 - Warrenpoint massacre , (Northern Ireland, 1979)
17 - Droppin' Well bombing , (Ballykelly , Northern Ireland, 1982)
17 - Meggido junction massacre , (Israel, 2002)
17 - Haifa bus 37 massacre , (Israel, 2003)
17 - Jerusalem bus 14A massacre , (Israel, 2003)
16 - Mahane Yehuda massacre , (Israel, 1997)
16 - Rishon Lezion massacre , (Israel, 2002)
16 - Beersheba massacre , (Israel, 2004)
15 - McGurk's Bar bombing , (Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1971)
15 - Sbarro massacre, (Israel, 2001)
15 - Haifa Bus 16 massacre , (Israel, 2001)
15 - Matza restaurant massacre, (Israel, 2002)
14 - Bus 841 massacre , (Israel, 2002)
12 - Munich Massacre, Summer Olympics , (Germany, 1972)
12 - La Mon House Hotel massacre , (Comber, Northern Ireland, 1978)
11 - M62 coach bomb , (near Leeds, England, 1974)
11 - Enniskillen bombing , (Northern Ireland, 1987)
11 - Deal barracks bombing, (Deal, Kent, England, 1989)
11 - Ben Yehuda St. massacre , (Israel, 2001)
11 - Beit Yisrael massacre , (Israel, 2002)
11 - Moment cafe massacre , (Israel, 2002)
11 - Jerusalem bus 20 massacre, (Israel, 2002)
11 - Jerusalem bus 19 massacre , (Israel, 2004)
10 - Kingsmills massacre , (Northern Ireland, 1976)
10 - Shankill bombing , (Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1993)
10 - Ashdod Port massacre , (Israel, 2004)
9 - Bloody Friday, (Northern Ireland, 1972)
9 - Claudy bombings , (Northern Ireland, 1972)
9 - Newry mortar attack , (Northern Ireland, 1985)
8 - London park bombings , (England, 1982)
8 - Lisburn bombing , (Northern Ireland, 1988)
8 - Ballygawley bus bombing , (Northern Ireland, 1988)
8 - Teebane bombing , (Northern Ireland, 1992)
8 - Assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, (Palestinian territories, 2003)
7 - Aldershot barracks bombing , (England, 1972)
7 - Greysteel killings , (Northern Ireland, 1993)
6 - Harrods bombing , (London, England, 1983)
6 - Coshquin bombing , (Northern Ireland, 1990)
6 - World Trade Center bombing, (New York, United States, 1993)
6 - Loughlinisland killings , (Northern Ireland, 1994)
5 - Guildford pub bombings , (England, 1974)
5 - Brighton bombing , (England, 1984)
4 - Murder of Lord Mountbatten, (Northern Ireland, 1979)
3 - Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing, (Australia, 1978)
3 - Baltic Exchange bombing, (London, England, 1992)

Deaths caused by natural disasters

Earthquake

830,000 - Shaanxi earthquake (China, 1556)
400,000 - Tangshan earthquake (China, 1976)
286,000 - (ongoing) - Indian Ocean earthquake & tsunamis (outside Indonesia, 2004)
200,000 - Gansu earthquake (China, 1920)
200,000 - Xining earthquake (China, 1927)
140,000 - Great Kanto earthquake (Japan, 1923)
100,000 - Messina earthquake (Italy, 1908)
100,000 - 1755 Lisbon earthquake (Portugal, 1755)
80,000 - Shemakha earthquake (Caucasus, 1667)
77,000 - Tabriz earthquake (Iran, 1727)
70,000 - Gansu earthquake (China, 1932)
66,000 - Peru earthquake (1970)
60,000 - Sicily earthquake (1693)
60,000 - Quetta earthquake (Pakistan, 1935)
50,000 - Calabria earthquake (Italy, 1783)
50,000 - Iran earthquake (1990)
31,000–41,000 - Bam earthquake (Iran, 2003)
32,700 - Erzincan earthquake (Turkey, 1939)
25,000 - Spitak earthquake (Armenia, 1988)
24,000 - Chi-Chi earthquake (Taiwan, 1999)
23,000 - Guatemala earthquake (1976)
20,000 - Gujarat earthquake (India, 2001)
20,000 - Valparaíso earthquake (Chile, 1960)
17,118 - Izmit earthquake (Turkey, 1999)
15,621 - Tonghai earthquake (China, 1970)
11,000 - Naples earthquake, (Italy, 1857)
10,700 - Bihar earthquake (India, 1934)
10,000 - Agadir earthquake (Morocco, 1960)
9,748 - India earthquake (India, 1993)
9,500 - Michoacán earthquake (Mexico, 1985)
6,433 - Great Hanshin earthquake, (Kobe, Japan, 1995)
1,570 - Romania earthquake (Romania, 1977)
700 - 1906 San Francisco earthquake (California, 1906)
571 - Morocco earthquake (Al Hoceima Province , 2004)
564 - Zarand (Iran, 2005)
258 - Napier earthquake (New Zealand, 1931)
66 - Loma Prieta earthquake (California, 1989)
65+ - Sylmar earthquake (California, 1971)
57 - Northridge earthquake (California, 1994)
27 - 1872 Lone Pine earthquake (California, 1872)
13 - Newcastle earthquake (Australia, 1989)

Extreme weather

1,000,000–3,700,000 - 1931 Huang He flood (China, 1931)
900,000–2,000,000 - 1887 Huang He flood (China, 1887)
145,000 - 1935 Yangtze river flood
142,000 - 1931 Yangtze river flood
100,000 - flood (North Vietnam, 1971)
100,000 - 1911 Yangtze river flood
35,000 - European Heat Wave of 2003 (Europe, 2003)
30,000 - 1954 Yangtze river flood
15,000 - torrential rains and mudslides in Venezuela (1999)
12,000 - Great Smog of 1952, (United Kingdom, 1952)
10,000 - Great Iran Flood , (Iran, 1954)
4,000 - heat waves in Texas, Middle East and India (1998)
4,000 - blizzard, (Iran, 1972)
2,142 - North Sea Flood of 1953 storm surge, (Netherlands, United Kingdom, 1953)
1,909 - Vajont Dam landslide and flood disaster, (Italy, 1963)
1,605–3,363 - spring flooding in Haiti and Dominican Republic (2004)
739 - Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 (Chicago, 1995)
695 - Tri-State Tornado, (1925)
669 - heavy storms ("Winnie") (and 695 missing), (Philippines, 2004)
271 - heat waves in Midwest and Northeast (1999)
250+ - Great Lakes Storm of 1913 (Great Lakes basin region, 1913)
16 - Brisbane flood (Australia, 1974)

Hurricane and cyclone

500,000 - Bhola cyclone (Bangladesh, 1970)
138,000 - cyclone, (Chittagong Bangladesh, 1991)
60,000 - typhoon, (China, 1922)
60,000 - typhoon, (India, 1864)
50,000 - typhoon, (China, 1912)
40,000 - typhoon, (India, 1942)
30,000 - cyclone (Bangladesh, June 1, 1965)
22,000 - Great Hurricane of 1780, (Barbados, Martinique, St. Eustatius 1780)
22,000 - cyclone (Pakistan, 1963)
20,000 - cyclone (India, 1977)
17,000 - cyclone (Bangladesh, May 11, 1965)
6,000–12,000 - Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (Texas, United States September 8, 1900)
11,000 - Hurricane Mitch (Central America 1998)
10,000 - cyclone (Karachi, Pakistan, 1965)
10,000 - cyclone in Orissa, India (1999)
10,000 - typhoon with tsunami (Hong Kong, 1906)
9,574 - cyclone (India, 1999)
8,000 - cyclone (Dominican Republic, 1930)
8,000 - Hurricane Fifi (Honduras, 1974)
7,200 - Hurricane Flora (Haiti, Cuba, 1963)
6,000 - Typhoon Thelma (Philippines, 1991)
6,000 - cyclone, (Pakistan, 1960)
5,000 - Typhoon Vera (Japan, 1958)
4,170 - Hurricane of Independence , (U.S., Canada, 1776)
3,037 - Hurricane Jeanne, (Haiti, 2004)
2,334 - Typhoon Iris (China, 1959)
1,836 - hurricane (Florida, 1928)
1,600 - Typhoon Mary , (China, 1960)
1,500 - Hurricane Hazel (Grenada, Bahamas, Haiti, U.S., Canada, 1954)
1,300 - Typhoon Ike , (Philippines, 1984)
1,200 - Hurricane David, (Dominican Republic, U.S., 1980)
1,130 - Hurricane Gordon (Haiti, U.S., 1994)
1,000 - cyclone (India, 1998)
650 - hurricane (Cuba, 1926)
650 - New England Hurricane , (U.S., 1938)
600 - hurricane (Florida, Louisiana, Texas, 1919)
500 - Hurricane Janet, (Honduras, Mexico, 1955)
408 - Labor Day Hurricane (Florida, 1935)
400 - Cyclone Mahina (Australia, 1899)
400 - Hurricane Hattie, (Belize, 1961)
256 - Hurricane Camille, (U.S., 1969)
250+ - Great Lakes Storm of 1913 (Great Lakes basin region, 1913)
228 - Hurricane Allen (Caribbean, U.S. 1980)
200 - Hurricane Hilda (Mexico, 1955)
120 - Hurricane Ivan, (Caribbean, USA, 2004)
86 - Hurricane Hugo (Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, US mainland, 1989)
65 - Cyclone Tracy (Australia, 1974)
57 - Hurricane Floyd, (Bahamas, U.S., 1999)
41 - Tropical Storm Allison (U.S.. 2001)
40 - Hurricane Isabel (United States, 2003)
26 - Hurricane Andrew (Bahamas, United States, 1992)

Tsunami

228,000–310,000 (ongoing) - Indian Ocean earthquake with tsunami, (Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, and other countries) 2004
100,000 - 1755 Lisbon earthquake, tsunami, earthquake and fire, 1755, Portugal and Morocco
100,000 - Awa, Japan, 1703
70,000 - Messina, Italy, earthquake and tsunami, 1908
40,000 - South China Sea, 1782, including deaths in Taiwan
36,000 - Krakatoa volcano explosion, 1883
30,000 - Tokaido-Nankaido, Japan, 1707
27,000 - Japan, 1826
25,674 - Chile, 1868
22,070 - Sanriku , Japan, 1896
15,030 - caused by Mount Unzen, Southwest Kyushu, Japan, 1792
13,486 - Ryukyu Trench, 1771
5,233 - Tokaido-Kashima, Japan, 1703
5,000 - Nankaido, Japan, 1605
5,000 - Moro Gulf, Philippines, 1976
3,000 - Papua New Guinea, 1998
3,008 - Sanriku , Japan, 1933
2,000 - Great Chilean Earthquake, deaths in Chile, U.S. (Hawaii), Philippines and Japan, 1960
165 - Aleutian Island earthquake, deaths in Hawaii and Alaska, U.S., 1946
122 - Good Friday Earthquake, Alaska and Hawaii, U.S., 1964
27 or 51 - Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, 1929

Volcanic eruption

92,000 - Mount Tambora, (Indonesia, 1815) (see also Year Without a Summer)
40,000 - Mount Pelée, (Martinique, 1902)
36,000 - Krakatoa, (Indonesia, 1883)
23,000 - Nevado del Ruiz, (Colombia, 1985)
18,000 - Mount Vesuvius, (1631)
15,000 - Mount Unzen, (Japan, 1792)
10,000 - Kelut, (Indonesia, 1586)
9,350 - Laki, (Iceland, 1783)
3,600 - Mount Vesuvius, (79)
1,680 - Soufrière, (St. Vincent, West Indies, 1902)
1,000 - Cotopaxi, (Ecuador, 1887)
700 - Mount Pinatubo (Philippines, 1991)
245 - Nyiragongo, (Congo, 2002)
57 - Mount St. Helens (Washington, 1980)

A supervolcano that erupted at Lake Toba 74,000 years ago is thought to have reduced the global modern human population to less than 10 thousand individuals; see Toba catastrophe theory.

Contractible disease

300,000,000+ - Smallpox (20th Century)
200,000,000 - Black Death (worldwide, 1300s)
100,000,000 - Plague of Justinian (Europe 540-590) (disputed)
10,000,000 - 100,000,000 - deaths from diseases in Europe (millions) and the Americas (tens of millions) from diseases exchanged between continents after 1492
50,000,000 - Spanish Flu (worldwide, 1918 - 1919)
19,000,000 - AIDS (worldwide, 1981 - )
10,000,000 - Bubonic Plague (China, 1892 - 1896)
4,000,000 - Asian Flu pandemic (worldwide, 1957)
1,000,000 - Hong Kong Flu pandemic (worldwide, 1968)
130,000 - North American smallpox epidemic (1775 - 1782)
60,000 - Great Plague of London (1665)
775 - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) (Mostly East Asia, few cases in Europe, Canada and United States, 2002-2003)
677 - West Nile Virus outbreak (North America, 1999 - 2004)

Famine

some of these famines may be partially or completely caused by humans

1,000,000–43,000,000 - Great Leap Forward (China, 1958 - 1961) (most estimates are between 25 and 35 million)
24,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1907
5,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1936
5,000,000 Ukraine and Volga Famine (USSR 1921-1922)
3,000,000 Chinese Drought 1941
3,000,000 Chinese Famine of 1928 -1930
3,000,000 Indian Drought of 1900
1,500,000 - 3,000,000 Bengal Famine (India, 1943)
1,500,000 Indian Drought of 1965 -1967
1,200,000 - North Korean famine (North Korea, 1995 - 1998)
1,100,000 - Irish potato famine (1846-1849)
1,000,000 - Ethiopian famine (1984)
30,000 - Dutch famine of 1944

Death from other causes

Fire

ca. 2,500 - Church of La Compana (Santiago, Chile, 1863)
ca. 2,000 - Peshtigo Fire, (Wisconsin, 1871)
1,700 - Waterfront fire, (Chongqing, China, 1949)
1,670 - theater fire (Canton, China, 1845)
694 - theater fire (Xinjiang, China, 1977)
658 - Antoung Movie Theater (China, 1937)
620 - Ring Theatre (Vienna, Austria, 1881)
602 - Iroquois Theater Fire, (Chicago, 1903)
559 - forest fire (Cloquet, Minnesota, 1918)
500 - Pemex LP gas fire (Mexico City, Mexico, 1984)
500 - flood-spread fuel fire (Durunka , Egypt, 1994)
492 - Cocoanut Grove fire, (Boston, 1942)
468 - Texas City Disaster, (Texas City, Texas, 1947)
465+ - Asunción Paraguay supermarket fire, (2004)
441 - Rajiv Marriage Palace (school function) (Mandi Dabwali , India, 1995)
418 - Hinckley Fire (Minnesota, 1894)
400 - Abadan theater arson (Abadan, Iran, 1978)
326 - North German Lloyd Steamship Line piers (Hoboken, New Jersey, 1900)
324 - movie theater, (Xinjiang, China, 1994)
323 - Circus arson, (Niterói, Brazil, 1961)
322 - L'Innovation department store (Brussels, Belgium, 1967)
320 - Ohio State Penitentiary fire, (Columbus, Ohio, 1930)
310 - theater fire (Karamay, China, 1994)
309 - Disco fire (Luoyang, China, 2000)
300 - subway fire, (Baku, Azerbaijan, 1995)
300 - Great Chicago Fire (Chicago, 1871)
285 - Conway's Theater , (New York City, 1876)
282 - Thumb Fire, (Michigan, 1881)
189 - Subway arson (Daegu, South Korea, 2003)
189 - Joelma Fire, (São Paulo, Brazil, 1974)
187 - Doll factory (Bangkok, Thailand, 1993)
186 - República Cromagnon nightclub fire, (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2004)
178 - School fire Collinwood, Ohio , 1908)
170 - Rhoads Opera House (Boyerton, Pennsylvania , 1908)
167 - Piper Alpha oil platform, (North Sea, 1988)
165 - Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, (Southgate, Kentucky, 1977)
168 - Hartford Circus Fire, (Hartford, Connecticut, 1944)
160 - Richmond Theater , (Richmond, Virginia, 1811)
160 - Miramichi Fire , (New Brunswick, 1825)
156 - Alpine tunnel fire (Kaprun, Austria, 2000)
150 - Clifford's Tower, (York, England, 1190)
150 - Exeter Theatre Royal fire , (Exeter, England, 1887)
145 - Triangle Factory fire, (New York, 1911)
140 - Gas truck crash, (Tarragona, Spain, 1978)
100 - The Station nightclub fire (Rhode Island, 2003)
97 - DuPont Hotel arson, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1986)
76 - "Ash Wednesday" bushfires (Australia, 1983)
72 - Branch Davidian compound (Waco, Texas, 1993)
71 - "Black Friday" bushfires (Australia, 1939)
63 - discotheque fire (Göteborg, Sweden, 1998)
62 - Hobart bushfire (Australia, 1967)
48 - Stardust Nightclub, (Dublin, Ireland, 1981)
36 - Hindenburg disaster, (Lakehurst, New Jersey, 1937)

Explosion

not including terrorist bombings

1,635 - Halifax Explosion, (Nova Scotia, 1917)
1,549 - Benxihu Colliery explosion, (China, 1942)
1,100 - ammunition trucks (Cali, Colombia, 1956)
1,060 - Coal mine explosion (Courrières, France, 1903)
1,000 - Ammunition dump fire, (Lagos, Nigeria, 2002), many deaths were from drowning during the panic
568 - Texas City Disaster (Texas, 1947)
500 - Pipeline explosion beside Trans-Siberian railway (Ufa, Russia, 1989)
472 - coal mine (Wankie, Rhodesia, 1972)
447 - coal mine (Omuta, Japan, 1963)
437 - coal mine (Coalbrook , South Africa, 1960)
430 - chemical plant (Oppau , Germany, 1921)
375 - coal mine (Bihar, India, 1965)
372 - coal mine (Dhanbad, India, 1975)
362 - coal mine (Monongah, West Virginia, 1907)
344 - Pretoria Pit Disaster , (Westhoughton, England, 1910)
322 - Port Chicago disaster (Port Chicago, California, 1944)
298 - coal mine (Saarland, West Germany, 1962)
294 - schoolhouse (New London, Texas, 1937)
263 - coal mine (Dawson, New Mexico , 1913)
262 - coal mine (Marcinelle , Belgium, 1956)
259 - coal mine (Cherry, Illinois, 1909)
239 - coal mine (Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania , 1907)
236 - coal mine (Fukuoka, Japan, 1965)
210 - 2005 Liaoning mine disaster (China, 2005)
206 - gas explosions (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, 1992)
200 - coal mine (Scofield, Utah, 1900)
130 - LP gas tanks (Cleveland, Ohio, 1944)
126 - Nedelin catastrophe, (USSR, 1960)
103 - USS Bennington, (off Quonset Point, Rhode Island, 1954)
48 - Vostok rocket explosion (Soviet Union, 1980)
40 - Lapua ammo factory (Finland, 1976)
22 - fireworks factory (Enschede, Netherlands, 2000)
21 - Brazilian rocket explosion (Brazil, 2003)

Aviation

583 - Tenerife disaster (Tenerife, 1977)
520 - Japan Airlines Flight 123, (Japan, 1985)
350 - cargo plane crashes on marketplace (Kinshasa, Zaire, 1996)
349 - Saudi Arabian Airlines plane collided with a Kazak Airlines plane, (New Delhi, 1996)
346 - Turkish Airlines (Paris, 1974)
329 - Air India flight 182 (Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland, 1985)
301 - Saudi Arabian Airlines (Jeddah, 1980)
290 - Iran Air Flight 655 (Persian Gulf, 1988)
276 - Iranian military airplane, (Sirach Mountains , 2003)
275 - American Airlines Flight 191 (Chicago, 1979)
270 - Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie, 1988)
269 - Korean Air Flight 7 (Sakhalin Island, 1983)
265 - American Airlines Flight 587, (New York City, 2001)
264 - China Airlines (Nagoya, 1994)
261 - Haj charter plane (Jedda, 1991)
257 - Air New Zealand Flight 901 (Antarctica, 1979)
256 - Arrow Air U.S. military charter (Gander, Newfoundland, 1985)
230 - TWA Flight 800 (Long Island, 1996)
229 - Swissair Flight 111 (Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1998)
225 - China Airlines Flight 611 (Penghu Islands, 2002)
202 - EgyptAir Flight 990 (Cape Cod), 2001
110 - ValuJet Flight 592 (Florida Everglades, 1996)
104 - Silkair Flight MI-185 (Sumatra, 1997)
83 - Singapore Airlines Flight 6 (Taipei, 2000)
78 - Air Florida Flight 90 (Washington, DC, 1982)
70 - Ramstein airshow disaster (Germany, 1988)
35 - Hindenburg disaster (New Jersey, 1937)

Maritime

Wartime ship disasters

7,000 - Goya, 1945 (minimum)
6,050 - KdF Ship Wilheim Gustloff, 1945 (sometimes reported as high as 10,000)
5,620 - Junyo Maru , 1944
5,400 - Toyama Maru , 1944 (approx.)
5,000 - Ukishima Maru , 1945 (approx.)
4,650 - Cap Arcona + 2,750 - Thielbek, 1945
4,000 - HMT Lancastria, 1940
3,000 - SS General von Steuben, 1945
3,000 - Yoshida Maru , 1944
2,571 - M.S. Rigel , 1944
2,498 - Yamato, 1945
2,097 - DKM Bismarck, 1941
2,003 - Awa Maru , 1945
2,000 - Ural Maru , 1944 (approx.)
2,000 - Josef Stalin , 1941
1,875 - Arisan Maru , 1944
1,650 - Taiho, 1944
1,529 - Tsushima Maru, 1944
1,435 - Shinano, 1944
1,414 - HMS Hood, 1941
1,400 - Yamashiro, 1944
1,400 - Fuso, 1944 (approx.)
1,297 - SS Khedive Ismail , 1944
1,263 - Shokaku, 1944
1,250 - Kongo, 1944
1,239 - Unryu , 1944
1,209 - Conte Rosso , 1941
1,207 - HMS Glorious, 1940
1,198 - RMS Lusitania, 1915
1,177 - USS Arizona (BB-39), (Pearl Harbor 1941)
883 - USS Indianapolis (CA-35), 1945
380 - Mary Rose (Portsmouth, 1545)

Peacetime ship disasters

6,000 - Chinese troopship (near Yingkow, Manchuria, November 1, 1948)
1,550–3,000 - Doña Paz, ferry, (Philippines, 1987)
1,547 - Sultana, 1865
1,518 - RMS Titanic, 1912
1,172 - Toya Maru (Tsugaru Straight , 1954)
1,100 - Kiangya (Shanghai, December 3, 1948)
1,021 - General Slocum, (New York 1904)
1,012 - RMS Empress of Ireland, (Saint Lawrence River 1914)
1,000 - Joola , (2002)
1,000 - Hong Kong (South China Sea, March 18, 1921)
852 - MS Estonia, (Baltic Sea 1994)
835 - Eastland, (Chicago, 1915)
800+ - HMS Royal George (Spithead, 29 August 1782)
608 - Novorossiysk (Sevastopol, 1955)
600 - Princess Alice (Thames, 1878)
558 - Principe de Asturias (off Brazil, 1916)
546 - RMS Atlantic (Nova Scotia, 1873)
450 - HMS Birkenhead (near Cape Town, 1852)
400 - Lady Elgin (Chicago, 1860)
400 - Cataraqui (King Island, Australia, 1865)
358 - HMS Victoria (near Tripoli, Lebanon, 1893)
353 - SIEV-X (off Australia, 2001)
260 - USS Maine (Havana, Cuba, 1898) maybe accidental; maybe terrorism
260 - Earl of Abergavenny (off Portland Bill, 1805)
260 - Nuestra Señora de Atocha (Florida Keys, 1622)
250+ - Great Lakes Storm of 1913 (Great Lakes basin region, 1913)
226 - Ville de Havre (North Atlantic, 1873)
200 - SS Victoria (London, Ontario, 1881)
185 - Batavia (off Australia, 1629) includes both drowned and murdered
193 - Herald of Free Enterprise (English Channel, 1987)
170 - Staffordshire (Cape Sable , 1853)
148 - Medusa (off Senegal, 1816)
134 - SS Morro Castle (off Asbury Park, New Jersey, 1934)
129 - USS Thresher, (N. Atlantic, 1963)
128 - HMS Gladiator (Isle of Wight, 1908)
124+ - SS Yongala (Townsville, Australia, 1911)
118 - Kursk (2000)
99 - USS Scorpion (near Azores, 1968)
80 - Pamir (1957)
51 - TEV Wahine (Wellington, NZ, 1968)
51 - SS Andrea Doria (off Nantucket, Mass. 1956)
45 - SS Elingamite (Three Kings Islands, NZ, 1902)
36 - FV Gaul (Barents Sea, 1974)
35 - HMS Pandora (Torres Strait, 1791)
31 - SS Carnatic (Red Sea, 1869)
29 - SS Edmund Fitzgerald (Lake Superior, 1975)
13 - Essex (South Pacific, 1819)
6 - Andrea Gail (North Atlantic, 1991)

Space travel

7 - Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (United States, 2003)
7 - Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (Florida, 1986)
3 - Soyuz 11 (space, 1971)
3 - Apollo 1 (Florida)
1 - Soyuz 1 (SE of Orenburg, Russia )

Sporting events

100,000–650,000 - Deaths in the Roman Colosseum for public entertainment (Rome, 80–404)
340 - Moscow soccer match crush (Moscow, 1982)
300 - Peru vs. Argentina soccer game riot (Lima, Peru, 1964)
123 - Hearts of Oak vs. Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko soccer match crush (Accra, Ghana, 2001)
96 - Hillsborough disaster crush (England, 1989)
84 - Guatemala and Costa Rica soccer match crush (Guatemala City,
82 - 24 hours of Le Mans disaster (France, 1955)
80 - soccer match crush (Katmandu, Nepal, 1988)
72 - River Plate vs Boca Juniors football match, stampede at gate 12 (Argentina, 1968)
66 - Second Ibrox disaster crush (Glasgow, 1971)
56 - Bradford City soccer stadium fire (Bradford, England, 1985)
39 - Heysel Stadium disaster soccer stadium hooliganism (Bruxelles, Belgium, 1985)
26 - First Ibrox disaster, terracing collapse (Glasgow, 1902)
21 - Olympiacos stampede at the old Karaiskaki stadium (Piraeus, Greece, 1981)

Industrial accidents

15,000+ - Bhopal Disaster India (1984)
1,549 - Benxihu Colliery explosion, (China, 1942)
568 - Texas City Disaster (Texas, 1947)
105 - mine elevator failure, (South Africa, 1995)
21 - Boston Molasses Disaster (Boston, 1919)

List of wars and disasters by death toll