You don't live here! I do! The destruction was unprecedented and still ongoing! There are still close to half a million people living in tents in Haiti which is off the coast of Florida and nothing is being done except for some gratuitous movie stars who look for soap boxes to stand on in their spare time before doing their next movie and make more millions! I bet you voted for Romney-out of touch making $10,000.00 bets during the debates. I live in the real world!
10. Aleppo Earthquake (Syria 1138) - 230,000 dead
9. Indian Ocean Earthquake/Tsunami (Indian Ocean 2004) - 230,000 dead
8. Haiyun Earthquake (China 1920) - 240,000 dead
7. Tangshan Earthquake (China 1976) - 242,000 dead
6. Antioch Earthquake (Syria and Turkey 526) - 250,000 dead
5. India Cyclone (India 1839) - 300,000 dead
4. Shaanxi Earthquake (China 1556) - 830,000 dead
3. Bhola Cyclone (Bangladesh 1970) - 500,000-1,000,000 dead
2. Yellow River Flood (China 1887) - 900,000-2,000,000 dead
1. Yellow River Flood (China 1931) - 1,000,000-4,000,000 dead
Bhola Cyclone
This 1970 storm that struck eastern Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and parts of India was the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane, carrying maximum winds of 115 mph and gusts of 130 mph as it roared in from the Bay of Bengal. An estimated 500,000 people lost their lives, though some estimates go even higher. Entire villages were wiped out and one district lost 46 percent of its population. Damage in today's dollars would reach nearly $500 million. Storm preparation was hampered by hostility between the Pakistani and Indian governments. Poor relief efforts afterward stirred discontent and led to political upheaval that would eventually result in the creation of Bangladesh.
Calcutta Cyclone
Because this disaster happened in 1737, details are naturally sketchy. Some even documented the "event" as an earthquake. But it's now agreed that it was a storm that roared onshore, and the popular estimate is that 300,000 were killed. This wouldn't be limited to Calcutta itself, as only about 3,000 lived in the city at the time. Texts from the time and records from merchant ships record a storm surge along the coastal areas of Bengal and Calcutta that destroyed thousands of ships in the harbors and wiped out thatched villages.
Haiphong Typhoon
Haiphong, Vietnam, in the Gulf of Tonkin, was hit by a devastating typhoon in 1881 that killed an estimated 300,000 people. Little is known of what preparation or precautions may have been lacking at the time, but the city was hit again in 2005. That storm came onshore with 100 mph sustained winds, but the casualty toll in the developed industrial center was significantly less: 150 people died in the storm.
Great Backerganj Cyclone
This storm roared ashore in 1876, bringing a 40-foot storm surge into the Meghna River estuary in present-day Barisal, Bangladesh, and surrounding low-lying areas. Modern-day estimation puts winds as high as 126 mph. About half of the 200,000 deaths are attributed to the famine and epidemic that followed the cyclone.
Tangshan, China: July 27, 1976
This stands as the worst earthquake to hit China in the 20th century, with a death toll of between 255,000 and 655,000 and nearly 800,000 injuries. The epicenter was on the northeast coast of China, with rumblings felt as far as 470 miles away. The magnitude 7.5 quake struck before 4 a.m. and thus caught many victims in their beds. The wide estimate in the death toll is due to the restrictions on information released by the communist government, particularly at the time. Tangshan was completely rebuilt and now is home to a million people.
3. Sumatra: Dec. 26, 2004
(Photo by Andrew Wong/Getty Images)Even though this was the third greatest magnitude earthquake in the world since 1990, the magnitude 9.1 temblor is remembered for the deadly tsunami that the undersea quake let loose. he earthquake was felt in Sumatra, parts of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and the ensuing tsunami hit 14 countries as far away as South Africa. The death toll was 227,898. The fault line that slipped has been estimated at 994 miles long. The tragedy has resulted in numerous tsunami watches ever since when earthquakes have occurred near oceans.
4. Haiyuan, Ningxia, China: Dec. 16, 1920
U.S. Geological SurveyThis earthquake resulted in 125 miles of faulting pushed to the surface and total destruction in several cities. The 7.8 magnitude quake was felt from the Yellow Sea to Inner Mongolia and was so powerful that some rivers changed course as a result. An estimated 200,000 people lost their lives, though Chinese estimates are a bit higher, and the survivors tolerated three years of aftershocks. The quake, which traveled a long distance at high velocity, caused waves in in 2 lakes and 3 fjords in western Norway, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
5. Kanto, Japan: Sept. 1, 1923
Imagine being caught in a 7.9 magnitude earthquake with four to 10 minutes of terrifying shaking: That's the time estimate range in witness accounts from this deadly temblor, which also sparked the Great Tokyo Fire that burned about 381,000 homes in the Tokyo-Yokohama area. The quake also touched off a tsunami with waves as high as 39 feet. The shaking also managed to move a 93-ton Buddha statue by two feet. The quake that killed 142,800 people struck at lunchtime, taking the fire that many were using to cook and spreading it with high winds.