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How have the impacts of natural disasters changed today?

General Information

Key Statistics

Climate change’s effect

Climate & Weather

Timeline

Timeline of Natural Disaster

Here are some of the most significant natural disasters in history:

• AD 79: The eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The eruption lasted for 24 hours, burying the cities under ash and pumice up to 20 feet deep. It is estimated that around 2,000 people died in the disaster.
• 1755: Lisbon, Portugal was hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, killing tens of thousands of people. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami and three days of fire that destroyed most of the city.
• 1883: The eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia caused a massive tsunami that killed over 36,000 people. The eruption was heard as far as 3,000 miles away, and the resulting tsunami reached heights of up to 135 feet.
• 1906: San Francisco was hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, causing widespread damage and fires that burned for days. The earthquake and resulting fires destroyed over 80% of the city and killed an estimated 3,000 people.
• 1920: Gansu, China—The earthquake killed 200,000 people.
• 1923: Tokyo, Japan—The earthquake killed more than 132,000 people. Regional rivers burst their banks, bringing the total number of deaths to over 300,000.
• 1939: Northern Turkey—The earthquake caused about 100,000 deaths, mostly near Erzingan.
• 1970: East Pakistan—Cyclone and tidal wave killed at least 300,000 people.
• 1970: Peru—The earthquake killed more than 50,000 people.
• 1976: Tangshan, China—Earthquake left 242,000–655,000 people dead.
• 1985: Mexico—The earthquake killed an estimated 25,000 people near and around Mexico City.
• 1985: Colombia—Earthquake killed about 25,000 people.
• 1990: Northwest Iran—Earthquake killed at least 50,000 people.
• 1991: Bangladesh—Cyclone killed over 131,000 people.
• 2004: A magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia caused a massive tsunami that killed over 230,000 people in 14 countries. The tsunami was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.
• 2011: A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, causing a tsunami that killed over 15,000 people and triggered a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The earthquake and tsunami caused widespread damage to the region and led to the evacuation of over 300,000 people.

These disasters serve as a reminder of the power of nature and the importance of being prepared for disasters.