We cannot avoid natural disasters although preventive measures and the harmful impacts can be minimised. Our planet is a witness to these various phenomena that have usually resulted in a loss of life and property. Below, we have listed the world's deadliest natural disasters in history.

The 1920 Haiyuan earthquake was a devastating earthquake that hit China. This one of the deadliest earthquakes killed over 270,000 people and injured 164,000.

The powerful earthquake of 1923 led to chaos in the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama. It caused widespread destruction and loss of life, with over 140,000 people estimated to have died as a result.

The 1931 flood in China was one of the worst natural disasters in history. Heavy rainfalls led to widespread flooding, costing the lives of an estimated 4 million people.

The Yangtze River flood of 1935 was one of the deadliest floods in history. The Yangtze River burst its banks and flooded a large area of land, killing more than 3 million people and causing widespread damage to infrastructure and crops.

A glacial lake outburst flood occurred in Peru in 1941. The flood killed a third of the Huaraz region population and caused significant damage.

Typhoon Nina which occurred in 1975 is remembered as the deadliest storm in history. It caused the Banqiao Dam failure and killed hundreds of thousands of people.

The 2001 earthquake in India was one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent history. Apart from killing over 20,000 people, the Gujarat earthquake also caused notable damages including poverty in some areas.

Extreme weather across India and Pakistan in 2002 exposed billions of people to flaming temperatures. One of the deadliest natural disasters in India's history, the heat wave killed thousands of people.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck Haiti in January 2010, resulting in massive destruction and loss of life. Haiti today faces many challenges in rebuilding its infrastructure and economy.

The great European heat wave of 2003 was a period of excessively hot weather that led to numerous deaths and widespread damage across Europe. Aside from numerous deaths, the heat wave also increased notable wildfires

The Indian Ocean tsunami is remembered as horrific due to the death and destruction it caused. Known as the Christmas or Boxing Day tsunami, it occurred in Indonesia, killing more than 100,000 people.

The massive earthquake which rocked Kashmir, Pakistan, killed over 80,000 people and left millions of homeless people. Many people are still struggling to rebuild their lives and live in extreme poverty.

The destructive force known as Katrina caused extensive damage when it hit the southern United States in 2005. Katrina was one of the most destructive hurricanes in recorded history.

Black Saturday of 2009 is revealed to be one of the most horrific events in Australia’s history. The earthquake which caused devastating wildfires across the country resulted in the death of more than a hundred people.

The devastating tsunami, which hit Japan in March 2011, killed more than 16,000 people, including many schoolchildren. It was the largest recorded earthquake to hit Japan and the fourth largest in the world.

India experienced a devastating heat wave that killed thousands of people in 2016. The high temperature reached 51°C, which was the third-highest temperature ever documented globally.

Coronavirus disease 19 or COVID-19 originated in Wuhan city of China in early December 2019 and has hitchhiked around the globe. The pandemic is estimated to kill 17 million people.

The severe floods of 2020 in South Asia were some of the most destructive in recent history. They affected millions of people and caused billions of dollars in damage.

A devastating series of earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria in February 2023. The earthquake is one of the deadliest disasters of this century, with the death toll passing 15,000 and thousands of injured.