10 Deadly Natural Disasters

2010 Haiti Earthquake The powerful Haiti earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 with an epicenter near the capital city of Port-au-Prince. About 230,000 people were killed and a total of three million were affected. The disaster caused major damage to many towns and cities in Haiti, destroying homes, buildings, and infrastructure.

Cyclone Nargis (2008) This powerful tropical cyclone devastated the country of Myanmar (also known as Burma). At least 138,000 people were killed, with some estimates putting the death toll much higher. The cyclone caused widespread damage in excess of $10 billion dollars. Nargis is one of the deadliest cyclones in recorded history.

2005 Kashmir Earthquake The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6 with an epicenter in the Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan. Areas in India and Afghanistan were also affected. The quake caused about 80,000 deaths and thousands of injuries. Widespread infrastructure and property damage was seen throughout the region.

Hurricane Katrina (2005) Katrina was one of the deadliest Hurricanes in the history of the United States. Close to 2,000 people were killed and widespread destruction, estimated at $81 billion was caused. New Orleans and surrounding areas were the most severely affected, when levees collapsed causing devastating floods.

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami The massive Tsunami in the Indian Ocean was caused by a powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter near Sumatra, Indonesia. This is thought to be the third largest earthquake in recorded history. A series of devastating Tsunamis measuring up to 100 feet high caused massive destruction in a number of countries, mostly in Asia. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were the most severely affected, with over 230, 000 people killed.

2003 European Heat Wave 2003 was one of the hottest recorded summers in Europe with temperatures spiking up to 104 F. The heat wave led to a health crisis in a number of countries and about 40,000 people died as a result of it. The heat wave occurred in August and people were unprepared to deal with prolonged lengths of extremely hot weather.

1991 Bangladesh Cyclone One of the deadliest cyclones ever recorded, it claimed over 138, 000 lives. The cyclone hit the Chittagong region of Bangladesh with winds of around 155 MPH and strong storm surge that flooded large areas. About 10 million people were left homeless.

1976 Tangshan Earthquake This is thought to be the most devastating earthquake of the 20th century, in terms of death toll. The Tangshan earthquake struck on July 28, 2010 and killed over 300, 000 people. The epicenter of the quake was near Tangshan, an industrial city. Wide spread damage to homes, buildings, and infrastructure was caused.

Typhoon Nina (1975) Nina was a super typhoon that caused devastating loss of life in China. The typhoon caused a major damn to collapse, which had a domino effect, resulting in smaller dams collapsing as well. Over 100,000 people were killed by widespread flooding and thousands others died due to the outbreak of disease following the floods. The total death toll of the typhoon is estimated at 230,000.

1970 Bhola Cyclone This is thought to be the deadliest tropical cyclone in recorded history. The Bhola Cyclone struck Bangladesh on November 12, 1970 and killed more than 500, 000 people. Most deaths were caused storm surges that flooded many low-lying areas. The cyclone wiped out entire villages and towns in its path.