Throughout history, humanity has strived to understand and control the forces of nature: building dams to hold back raging rivers, planting forests to prevent erosion, whatever it took. Yet despite our efforts, Mother Earth is still reminding us that our powers are no match for hers.

The 20th century witnessed devastating natural disasters ever recorded; events that not only caused extensive damage but also resulted in immense loss of life. So we invite you to reflect on these tragedies, and remember the ongoing need to prepare, adapt, and, ultimately, respect the world around us.

#1 1931 China Floods

The Yangtze-Huai River floods of 1931 devastated China over the summer, impacting major cities like Wuhan and Nanjing and culminating in a critical dike breach at Lake Gaoyou on August 25th. A study of media reports from the time by Chinese historians established a final death toll of 422,420.

Image credits: Museum of Ethnography

#2 1900 Galveston Hurricane

On September 8, 1900, a powerful Category 4 hurricane unleashed a massive storm surge on the low-lying city of Galveston, Texas. The storm destroyed more than 3,600 buildings and an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people lost their lives, marking it as the deadliest natural disaster in United States history.

Image credits: Library of Congress

#3 1905 Kangra Earthquake

A 7.8 earthquake struck the Kangra Valley in British India on April 4, 1905, destroying the towns of Kangra and Dharamshala. The vast majority of deaths were caused by the collapse of poorly constructed stone and mud-brick buildings. The disaster took an estimated 20,000 lives, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in the history of India.

Image credits: fredibach (not the actual photo)

#4 1908 Messina Earthquake

In the early morning of December 28, 1908, a massive earthquake and a subsequent tsunami struck the Strait of Messina in southern Italy. The twin disasters virtually leveled the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria, destroying over 90% of their buildings. It remains the deadliest earthquake in European history, with a death toll estimated between 75,000 and 82,000 people.

Image credits: Jean-Christophe Curtet

#5 1912 China Typhoon

This typhoon generated a catastrophic storm surge when it struck China’s coastal Zhejiang province in late August 1912. The massive wall of water completely overwhelmed the unprepared region, drowning an estimated 50,000-200,000 people and making it one of the deadliest typhoons of the 20th century.

Image credits: Japan Meteorological Agency

#6 1915 Avezzano Earthquake

The town of Avezzano in central Italy was almost completely destroyed by a 6.7 earthquake on the morning of January 13, 1915. The destruction was so swift and total that it wiped out 96% of Avezzano’s population, with the collapse of buildings leading to a final death toll of over 30,000 people in the region.

Image credits: E. Navone & Co

#7 1919 Kelud Mudflow

When the Kelud volcano in Java, Indonesia erupted in 1919, it violently ejected the contents of its large crater lake. The superheated water mixed with volcanic debris to form a devastating hot mudflow that ended more than 5,000 people’s lives as it swept through surrounding villages.

Image credits: Wereldmuseum Amsterdam

#8 1988 Armenian Earthquake

On December 7, 1988, a devastating earthquake struck northern Armenia, then a republic of the Soviet Union. The quake completely destroyed the city of Spitak and caused catastrophic damage in other towns, where poorly constructed Soviet-era apartment buildings collapsed. At least 25,000 people died, and more than half a million were left homeless just as winter was beginning.

Image credits: LoMit

#9 1911 France Heat Wave

An unusually long and intense heat wave scorched France during the summer of 1911, creating a massive public health crisis. The extreme temperatures, which lasted for more than two months, led to the deaths of an estimated 41,000 people. A significant number of the victims were infants, who were especially vulnerable to the effects of the prolonged heat.

Image credits: Florian Pepellin (not the actual photo)

#10 1959 Typhoon Vera

In September 1959, Typhoon Vera, one of the most intense typhoons ever recorded, slammed into Japan. The storm’s massive surge overwhelmed sea walls and flooded the coastal region around Ise Bay, causing catastrophic damage. It is the deadliest typhoon in Japanese history, taking over 5,000 people’s lives and leaving more than 1.6 million homeless.

Image credits: Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting

#11 1955 Hurricane Janet

In late September 1955, Hurricane Janet slammed into the Caribbean as a powerful Category 5 storm. It was particularly catastrophic for Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, where it almost completely destroyed the city of Chetumal and left over 1,000 people dead in its wake.

Image credits: San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives

#12 1938 Hanshin Flood

The Hanshin Flood of July 1938 was caused by torrential rains that triggered massive landslides from Mount Rokkō into the city of Kobe, Japan. These powerful debris flows engulfed entire neighborhoods and destroyed critical infrastructure, resulting in the deaths of more than 700 people.

Image credits: “Historical Photograph, August 1938 issue

#13 1976 Tangshan Earthquake

In the early morning of July 28, 1976, a powerful earthquake almost completely flattened the industrial city of Tangshan, China. The Chinese government stated an official death toll of 242,000, but many estimates suggest the actual number was far higher, making it one of the deadliest quakes of the 20th century.

Image credits: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

#14 1902 Eruption Of Mount Pelee

The Mount Pelée volcano on the Caribbean island of Martinique violently erupted on May 8, 1902. It unleashed a pyroclastic flow—a superheated cloud of gas and ash—that instantly engulfed the nearby city of Saint-Pierre. The event ended in an estimated 30,000 deaths, wiping out almost the entire population in a matter of minutes.

Image credits: Internet Archive Book Images

#15 1962 Tropical Storm Harriet

In October 1962, Tropical Storm Harriet struck southern Thailand, creating a massive storm surge that swept over the Laem Talumphuk peninsula. The event is considered the deadliest storm in the country’s history, destroying entire villages and taking more than 900 people’s lives.

Image credits: Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC

#16 1975 Banqiao Dam Failure

The catastrophic failure of the Banqiao Dam in China was triggered by record-breaking rainfall from Typhoon Nina in August 1975. Its collapse set off a chain reaction, destroying dozens of smaller dams downstream and unleashing a massive flood wave that took an estimated 26,000 people’s lives. The subsequent famine and epidemics raised the total death toll to around 171,000, making it the deadliest dam failure in history.

Image credits: The Ohio State University

#17 1990 Manjil–Rudbar Earthquake

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck northern Iran late at night on June 21, 1990, devastating the cities of Manjil and Rudbar. The timing was especially deadly as it hit while most residents were asleep inside traditional mud-brick homes that collapsed instantly, an estimated 40,000 people died and half a million were left homeless.

Image credits: M. Mehrain, Dames and Moore

#18 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone

One of the deadliest tropical cyclones ever recorded slammed into the Chittagong region of Bangladesh in April 1991. The storm created a massive 20-foot storm surge that swept over the low-lying coastal areas and islands, wiping out entire villages. This catastrophic wall of water took at least 138,000 people’s lives and left millions homeless.

Image credits: Staff Sergeant Val Gempis (USAF)

#19 1998 Hurricane Mitch

Hurricane Mitch, a massive and extremely slow-moving storm, stalled over Central America in late October 1998, unleashing days of torrential rain. The resulting catastrophic floods and mudslides devastated Honduras and Nicaragua, burying entire villages and an estimated 11,000 people died, with thousands more reported missing.

Image credits: United States Geological Survey

#20 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake

In the early morning of January 17, 1995, the city of Kobe, Japan, was struck by the Great Hanshin Earthquake. Its shallow depth created incredibly violent ground shaking that collapsed thousands of buildings, famously toppled sections of the Hanshin Expressway, and triggered widespread fires. The disaster ended more than 5,000 people’s lives and exposed serious vulnerabilities in the country’s modern infrastructure.

Image credits: Akiyoshi Matsuoka

#21 1953 North Sea Flood

A massive storm surge, created by a severe storm hitting during a high spring tide, battered the coasts of the North Sea on the night of January 31, 1953. The surge overwhelmed sea defenses in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, causing catastrophic flooding that ended over 2,500 people’s lives and prompted the construction of ambitious new flood-control systems. Above human fatalities, almost 190,000 animals drowned, and 10,000 buildings were destroyed.

Image credits: Agency for International Development

#22 1970 Bhola Cyclone

Considered the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded, the 1970 Bhola Cyclone devastated the coast of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Its massive storm surge completely flooded the low-lying delta region and an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people lost their lives. The widely criticized government response to the disaster became a major catalyst for the political turmoil that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War the following year.

Image credits: Express Newspapers/Getty Images

#23 1917 Bali Earthquake

A series of destructive earthquakes struck the island of Bali on January 21, 1917, triggering catastrophic landslides across the region. These massive earthflows destroyed thousands of homes and an estimated 2,400 temples, ultimately ending in around 1,500 deaths.

Image credits: Wereldmuseum Amsterdam

#24 1944 San Juan Earthquake

The city of San Juan, Argentina, was almost completely leveled by a 6.7-7.8 earthquake on January 15, 1944. The high death toll, estimated at 10,000 people, was largely due to the collapse of the city’s poorly constructed adobe buildings. The event is considered the worst natural disaster in Argentina’s history and helped launch the political career of Juan Perón, who led the national relief effort.

Image credits: Diego Abad de Santillan

#25 1999 Vargas Tragedy

In December 1999, torrential rainfall on the steep coastal mountains of Vargas, Venezuela, triggered massive flash floods and debris flows. These mudslides swallowed entire towns under tons of rock, ending an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 lives and permanently altering the coastline.

Image credits: AVM

#26 1971 Hanoi And Red River Delta Flood

Intense monsoon rains in August 1971 caused disastrous flooding in the Red River Delta of North Vietnam, a region already strained by the ongoing war. The floodwaters submerged the vital rice-growing region, including parts of Hanoi, and overwhelmed the population. Though the government largely concealed the extent of the damage, the event is estimated to have ended more than 100,000 lives.

Image credits: British Pathe

#27 1954 Yangtze Floods

A period of unusually heavy rainfall throughout the spring and summer of 1954 caused the Yangtze River in China to swell to record levels. This resulted in a massive, prolonged flood that inundated huge swaths of farmland and kept the major city of Wuhan underwater for three months, ultimately taking an estimated 33,000 lives.

Image credits: Carla Antonini (not the actual photo)

#28 1949 Khait Earthquake

The 1949 Khait earthquake in Tajikistan is remembered for the catastrophic landslides it triggered in the region’s mountains. A massive debris flow completely buried the town of Khait and dozens of surrounding villages under tons of earth. The disaster was so swift and total that it ended an estimated 7,500 lives, with most deaths attributed to the landslides rather than the initial quake.

Image credits: R.L. Wesson (USGS)

#29 1973 Luhuo Earthquake

A 7.2 earthquake struck the remote Luhuo County in China’s Sichuan province on February 6, 1973. The shaking destroyed nearly every building in the town of Luhuo, with the collapse of traditional stone and wood homes causing most of the fatalities. The disaster ultimately resulted in the deaths of more than 2,200 people and another 2,000 injuries.

Image credits: Johannes Geiger

#30 1979 Hurricane David

As a Category 5 storm, Hurricane David carved a devastating path across the Caribbean in August 1979. It made a catastrophic landfall on the island of Dominica, destroying nearly all of its infrastructure, before striking the Dominican Republic. There, the storm’s torrential rains triggered massive river floods and mudslides, leading to the deaths of over 2,000 people.

Image credits: Vortix

#31 1920 Haiyuan Earthquake

A massive earthquake struck Haiyuan County, China, on December 16, 1920, triggering catastrophic landslides in the region’s unique loess hills. The maximum intensity quake and the subsequent earthflows buried entire villages and caused rivers to change course. With many survivors left homeless in the harsh winter, the total death toll is estimated to have exceeded 250,000, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes of the 20th century.

Image credits: PhiLiP

#32 1903 Manzikert Earthquake

A destructive earthquake struck the town of Manzikert in the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) on April 28, 1903. The disaster leveled 12,000 of houses and public buildings in the region and caused severe damage to the historic Manzikert fortress. The quake and its devastating aftershocks ultimately ended an estimated 3,500 people’s lives and 20,000 animals’ lives.

Image credits: Fernand Grenard

#33 1916 White Friday

Known as White Friday, the disaster of December 13, 1916, involved a series of catastrophic avalanches on the Italian Front of World War I. Following days of exceptionally heavy snowfall in the Dolomite mountains, huge masses of snow crashed down on the high-altitude barracks of both Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers. An estimated 2,000-10,000 men died in a single day, making it the deadliest avalanche event in recorded history.

Image credits: Much89~commonswiki

#34 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake

The Great Kantō Earthquake struck the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area in Japan on September 1, 1923, but the true devastation came from the events that followed. The quake triggered massive firestorms that swept through the wooden cities, fueled by open cooking flames from lunchtime meal preparations. The disaster ultimately ended an estimated 142,000 lives, with the vast majority of deaths attributed to the fires rather than the initial shaking.

Image credits: urbzoo

#35 1974 Hurricane Fifi–Orlene

As a slow-moving storm in September 1974, Hurricane Fifi unleashed days of torrential rain on the mountainous terrain of Honduras, causing catastrophic inland flooding and mudslides that buried entire communities. The disaster ended an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 lives, and after crossing Central America, the storm re-emerged in the Pacific and was renamed Hurricane Orlene.

Image credits: National Hurricane Center

#36 1977 Andhra Pradesh Cyclone

A powerful cyclone struck India’s Andhra Pradesh state in November 1977, creating a massive storm surge nearly 20 feet high. This devastating wall of water swept far inland, completely submerging hundreds of low-lying coastal villages and an estimated 10,000 people died.

Image credits: wikipedia

#37 1978 Tabas Earthquake

The city of Tabas in eastern Iran was almost completely obliterated by a massive earthquake on September 16, 1978. The quake’s extreme intensity leveled nearly every building, destroying the city’s modern infrastructure and adobe homes alike. This near-total destruction resulted in a death toll estimated between 15,000 and 25,000 people, wiping out the vast majority of the city’s residents.

Image credits: wikimedia

#38 1985 Armero Tragedy

The Armero tragedy was triggered by the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia on November 13, 1985. The eruption’s heat melted the mountain’s summit glaciers, creating a massive volcanic mudflow, or lahar, that descended upon the nearby town of Armero. Despite warnings from scientists about the risk, the town was not evacuated, and the lahar buried it completely, leading to the death of an estimated 23,000 of its 29,000 residents.

Image credits: Jeffrey Marso, USGS geologist

#39 1963 Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Two

In late May 1963, a tragic cyclone devastated the Chittagong region of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The storm generated a massive 20-foot storm surge that swept over coastal areas and offshore islands, destroying tens of thousands of homes. It is considered one of the deadliest cyclones in the nation’s history, with a death toll estimated at over 11,500 people.

Image credits: 2003 LN6 Visual

#40 1922 Shantou Typhoon

The coastal city of Shantou, China, was struck by a devastating typhoon in August 1922, which created one of the highest storm surges ever recorded. This massive wall of water overwhelmed the low-lying region, with the resulting flooding drowning an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people and marking it as one of the deadliest typhoons in history.

Image credits: NASA

#41 1937 Hong Kong Typhoon

A fatal typhoon created a massive storm surge that swept through Hong Kong’s Tolo Harbour on September 2, 1937. The surge caught the region’s large fishing community completely by surprise, destroying their fleet and drowning thousands who lived on their boats. With an estimated death toll of 11,000 people, it remains the deadliest natural disaster in the territory’s history.

Image credits: NOAA Central Library

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