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| 20828 | What were the world's deadliest earthquakes? | the-worlds-deadliest-earthquakes | post | publish | <!-- wp:html --> <div class="blog-info">Our World in Data presents the empirical evidence on global development in entries dedicated to specific topics.<br>This blog post draws on data and research discussed in our entry on <strong><a href="https://owid.cloud/natural-disasters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Natural Disasters</a></strong>.</div> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp-block-tombstone 26517 --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The number of people dying in natural disasters is <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters#number-of-deaths-from-natural-disasters">lower today</a> than it was in the past; the world has become more resilient.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earthquakes, however, can still claim a large number of lives. Whilst historically, floods, droughts, and epidemics dominated disaster deaths, a high annual death toll in recent years often results from a major earthquake and possibly a tsunami caused by them. Since 2000, the two peak years in annual death tolls (reaching hundreds of thousands) were 2004 and 2010. Earthquake deaths accounted for 93 percent and 69 percent of disaster deaths, respectively. Both events (the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004 and the Port-au-Prince earthquake in 2010) are in the deadliest earthquake rankings below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What have been the most deadly earthquakes in human history? In the visualization, we have mapped the top 10 rankings of known earthquakes, which resulted in the largest number of deaths.{ref}Since two events are ranked equally in 8th place, a total of 11 are included.{/ref} This ranking is based on mortality estimates from the NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC).{ref}National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Significant Earthquake Database. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. Available at: <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1" target="_blank">https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1</a>.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clicking on the visualization will open it in higher resolution. This ranking is also summarized in table form.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The most deadly earthquake in history was in Shaanxi, China in 1556. It's estimated to have killed 830,000 people. This is more than twice that of the second most fatal: the recent Port-au-Prince earthquake in Haiti in 2010. It's reported that 316,000 people died as a result.{ref}The death toll of the Haitian earthquake is still disputed. Here, we present the adopted figure by the NGDC of the NOAA (for consistency with other earthquakes); this is the figure reported by the Haitian government. Some sources suggest a lower figure of 220,000. In the latter case, this event would fall to 7th place in the above rankings.{/ref}</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two very recent earthquakes — the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004 and the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake — feature amongst the most deadly in human history. But equally, some of the most fatal occurred in the very distant past. The third deadliest was the earthquake in Antakya (Turkey) in 115 CE. Both old and very recent earthquakes feature near the top of the list. The deadly nature of earthquakes has been a persistent threat throughout our history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"center","id":20882,"linkDestination":"custom"} --> <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes.png"><img src="https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes-750x508.png" alt="" class="wp-image-20882"/></a></figure></div> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:shortcode --> <table><thead><tr><th scope="col" colSpan="1">Ranking</th><th scope="col" colSpan="1">Location</th><th scope="col" colSpan="1">Year</th><th scope="col" colSpan="1">Estimated death toll</th><th scope="col" colSpan="1">Earthquake magnitude </th><th scope="col" colSpan="1">Additional information</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">1</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Shaanxi, China</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">1556</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">830,000</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">8</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">More than <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake">97 counties in China</a> were affected. A 520-mile wide area destroyed. In some counties it's estimated that up to 60% of the population died. Such catastrophic losses are attributed to loess cave settlements, which collapsed as a result.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">2</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Port-au-Prince, Haiti</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">2010</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">316,000</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">7</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Death toll is still disputed. Here we present the adopted figure by the NGDC of the NOAA (for consistency with other earthquakes); this is the figure reported by the Haitian government. Some sources suggest a lower figure of 220,000. In the latter case, this event would fall to 7th place in the above rankings.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">3</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Antakya, Turkey</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">115</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">260,000</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">7.5</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Antioch (ancient ruins which lie near the modern city Antakya) and surrounding areas suffered severe damage. Apamea was <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X03001444">also destroyed and Beirut suffered severe damage</a>. A local <a href="https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf">tsunami was triggered</a> causing damage to the coast of Lebanon.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">4</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Antakya, Turkey</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">525</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">250,000</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">7</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Severe damage to the area of the Byzantine Empire. The earthquake caused severe damage to many buildings. However, severe damage was also <a href="https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf">caused by fires in the aftermath</a> combined with strong wind.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">5</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Tangshan, China</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">1976</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">242,769</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">7.5</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Reported that the earthquake risk had been greatly underestimated meaning almost all buildings and structures were designed and built without seismic considerations. Estimated that <a href="https://authors.library.caltech.edu/26539/">up to 85% of buildings collapsed</a>. Tangshan therefore large comprised of <a href="https://www.nap.edu/login.php?record_id=19764">unreinforced brick buildings</a> which resulted in a large death toll.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">6</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Gyzndzha, Azerbaijan</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">1139</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">230,000</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Unknown</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Often <a href="https://www.seismology.az/en/stations/5#.W7aH-ZM-eL8">termed the Ganja earthquake</a>. Much less is documented on the specific details of this event.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">7</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Sumatra, Indonesia</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">2004</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">227,899</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">9.1</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Earthquake in Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra resulted in a series of large tsunamis (<a href="https://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/03/">ranging 15 to 30 metres in height</a>). Victims across 14 countries in the regions with Indonesia being the hardest-hit, followed by Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. There was no tsunami warning system in place.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">=8</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Damghan, Iran</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">856</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">200,000</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">7.9</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Estimated that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/856_Damghan_earthquake">extent of the damage area was 220 miles long</a>. It's also hypothesised that the ancient city of Šahr-e Qumis was so badly damaged that it was abandoned after the earthquake.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">=8</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Gansu, China</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">1920</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">200,000</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">8.3</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Damage occurred <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Haiyuan_earthquake">across 7 provinces and regions</a>. In some cities almost all buildings collapsed, or were buried by landslides. It was reported than additional deaths occurred due to cold exposure: fear from aftershocks meant survivors tried to rely only on temporary shelters which were unsuitable for the harsh winter.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">9</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Dvin, Armenia</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">893</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">150,000</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Unknown</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">City of Dvin was destroyed, with the collapse of most buildings, defensive walls and palaces; <a href="https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/1795/1/22%20hasrat'yan.pdf">estimated that only 100 buildings were left standing</a>. With its city defences ruined, Dvin was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/893_Dvin_earthquake">taken over and turned into a military base</a> by Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj, the Sajid emir of Adharbayjan.</td></tr><tr><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">10</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">Tokyo, Japan</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">1923</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">142,807</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">7.9</td><td colSpan="1" rowspan="1">More than <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Tokyo-Yokohama-earthquake-of-1923">half of brick buildings, and 10% of reinforced structures</a> collapsed. Caused a tsunami with height up to 12m. Large fires broke out; combined with a large tornado, these spread quickly. </td></tr></tbody></table> <!-- /wp:shortcode --> | {
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"text": "What have been the most deadly earthquakes in human history? In the visualization, we have mapped the top 10 rankings of known earthquakes, which resulted in the largest number of deaths.{ref}Since two events are ranked equally in 8th place, a total of 11 are included.{/ref} This ranking is based on mortality estimates from the NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC).{ref}National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Significant Earthquake Database. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. Available at:\u00a0",
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Such catastrophic losses are attributed to loess cave settlements, which collapsed as a result.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">2</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Port-au-Prince, Haiti</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">2010</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">316,000</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">7</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Death toll is still disputed. Here we present the adopted figure by the NGDC of the NOAA (for consistency with other earthquakes); this is the figure\u0003 reported by the Haitian government. Some sources suggest a lower figure of 220,000. In the latter case, this event would fall to 7th place in the above rankings.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">3</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Antakya, Turkey</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">115</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">260,000</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">7.5</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Antioch (ancient ruins which lie near the modern city Antakya) and surrounding areas suffered severe damage. Apamea was <a href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X03001444\">also destroyed and Beirut suffered severe damage</a>. A local <a href=\"https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf\">tsunami was triggered</a> causing damage to the coast of Lebanon.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">4</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Antakya, Turkey</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">525</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">250,000</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">7</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Severe damage to the area of the Byzantine Empire. The earthquake caused severe damage to many buildings. However, severe damage was also <a href=\"https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf\">caused by fires in the aftermath</a> combined with strong wind.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">5</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Tangshan, China</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">1976</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">242,769</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">7.5</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Reported that the earthquake risk had been greatly underestimated meaning almost all buildings and structures were designed and built without seismic considerations. Estimated that <a href=\"https://authors.library.caltech.edu/26539/\">up to 85% of buildings collapsed</a>. Tangshan therefore large comprised of <a href=\"https://www.nap.edu/login.php?record_id=19764\">unreinforced brick buildings</a> which resulted in a large death toll.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">6</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Gyzndzha, Azerbaijan</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">1139</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">230,000</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Unknown</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Often <a href=\"https://www.seismology.az/en/stations/5#.W7aH-ZM-eL8\">termed the Ganja earthquake</a>. Much less is documented on the specific details of this event.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">7</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Sumatra, Indonesia</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">2004</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">227,899</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">9.1</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Earthquake in Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra resulted in a series of large tsunamis (<a href=\"https://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/03/\">ranging 15 to 30 metres in height</a>). Victims across 14 countries in the regions with Indonesia being the hardest-hit, followed by Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. There was no tsunami warning system in place.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">=8</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Damghan, Iran</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">856</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">200,000</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">7.9</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Estimated that <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/856_Damghan_earthquake\">extent of the damage area was 220 miles long</a>. It's also hypothesised that the ancient city of \u0160ahr-e Qumis was so badly damaged that it was abandoned after the earthquake.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">=8</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Gansu, China</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">1920</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">200,000</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">8.3</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Damage occurred <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Haiyuan_earthquake\">across 7 provinces and regions</a>. In some cities almost all buildings collapsed, or were buried by landslides. It was reported than additional deaths occurred due to cold exposure: fear from aftershocks meant survivors tried to rely only on temporary shelters which were unsuitable for the harsh winter.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">9</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Dvin, Armenia</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">893</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">150,000</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">Unknown</td><td colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">City of Dvin was destroyed, with the collapse of most buildings, defensive walls and palaces; <a href=\"https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/1795/1/22%20hasrat'yan.pdf\">estimated that only 100 buildings were left standing</a>. 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2018-10-05 12:00:57 | 2024-02-16 14:22:48 | 1AFVSZhbg4d5pDjzyztnwG2CSBHi1UxNwVngEK6JghKo | [
"Hannah Ritchie"
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2018-10-02 16:34:57 | 2023-11-23 14:52:11 | https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes.png | {} |
Our World in Data presents the empirical evidence on global development in entries dedicated to specific topics. This blog post draws on data and research discussed in our entry on **[Natural Disasters](https://owid.cloud/natural-disasters)** . The number of people dying in natural disasters is [lower today](https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters#number-of-deaths-from-natural-disasters) than it was in the past; the world has become more resilient. Earthquakes, however, can still claim a large number of lives. Whilst historically, floods, droughts, and epidemics dominated disaster deaths, a high annual death toll in recent years often results from a major earthquake and possibly a tsunami caused by them. Since 2000, the two peak years in annual death tolls (reaching hundreds of thousands) were 2004 and 2010. Earthquake deaths accounted for 93 percent and 69 percent of disaster deaths, respectively. Both events (the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004 and the Port-au-Prince earthquake in 2010) are in the deadliest earthquake rankings below. What have been the most deadly earthquakes in human history? In the visualization, we have mapped the top 10 rankings of known earthquakes, which resulted in the largest number of deaths.{ref}Since two events are ranked equally in 8th place, a total of 11 are included.{/ref} This ranking is based on mortality estimates from the NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC).{ref}National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Significant Earthquake Database. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. Available at: [https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1](https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1).{/ref} Clicking on the visualization will open it in higher resolution. This ranking is also summarized in table form. The most deadly earthquake in history was in Shaanxi, China in 1556. It's estimated to have killed 830,000 people. This is more than twice that of the second most fatal: the recent Port-au-Prince earthquake in Haiti in 2010. It's reported that 316,000 people died as a result.{ref}The death toll of the Haitian earthquake is still disputed. Here, we present the adopted figure by the NGDC of the NOAA (for consistency with other earthquakes); this is the figure reported by the Haitian government. Some sources suggest a lower figure of 220,000. In the latter case, this event would fall to 7th place in the above rankings.{/ref} Two very recent earthquakes — the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004 and the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake — feature amongst the most deadly in human history. But equally, some of the most fatal occurred in the very distant past. The third deadliest was the earthquake in Antakya (Turkey) in 115 CE. Both old and very recent earthquakes feature near the top of the list. The deadly nature of earthquakes has been a persistent threat throughout our history. <Image filename="Deadliest-earthquakes.png" alt=""/> <div class="raw-html-table__container"><table><thead><tr><th scope="col" colspan="1">Ranking</th><th scope="col" colspan="1">Location</th><th scope="col" colspan="1">Year</th><th scope="col" colspan="1">Estimated death toll</th><th scope="col" colspan="1">Earthquake magnitude </th><th scope="col" colspan="1">Additional information</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">1</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Shaanxi, China</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">1556</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">830,000</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">8</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">More than <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake">97 counties in China</a> were affected. A 520-mile wide area destroyed. In some counties it's estimated that up to 60% of the population died. Such catastrophic losses are attributed to loess cave settlements, which collapsed as a result.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">2</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Port-au-Prince, Haiti</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">2010</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">316,000</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">7</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Death toll is still disputed. Here we present the adopted figure by the NGDC of the NOAA (for consistency with other earthquakes); this is the figure reported by the Haitian government. Some sources suggest a lower figure of 220,000. In the latter case, this event would fall to 7th place in the above rankings.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">3</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Antakya, Turkey</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">115</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">260,000</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">7.5</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Antioch (ancient ruins which lie near the modern city Antakya) and surrounding areas suffered severe damage. Apamea was <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X03001444">also destroyed and Beirut suffered severe damage</a>. A local <a href="https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf">tsunami was triggered</a> causing damage to the coast of Lebanon.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">4</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Antakya, Turkey</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">525</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">250,000</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">7</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Severe damage to the area of the Byzantine Empire. The earthquake caused severe damage to many buildings. However, severe damage was also <a href="https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf">caused by fires in the aftermath</a> combined with strong wind.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">5</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Tangshan, China</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">1976</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">242,769</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">7.5</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Reported that the earthquake risk had been greatly underestimated meaning almost all buildings and structures were designed and built without seismic considerations. Estimated that <a href="https://authors.library.caltech.edu/26539/">up to 85% of buildings collapsed</a>. Tangshan therefore large comprised of <a href="https://www.nap.edu/login.php?record_id=19764">unreinforced brick buildings</a> which resulted in a large death toll.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">6</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Gyzndzha, Azerbaijan</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">1139</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">230,000</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Unknown</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Often <a href="https://www.seismology.az/en/stations/5#.W7aH-ZM-eL8">termed the Ganja earthquake</a>. Much less is documented on the specific details of this event.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">7</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Sumatra, Indonesia</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">2004</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">227,899</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">9.1</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Earthquake in Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra resulted in a series of large tsunamis (<a href="https://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/03/">ranging 15 to 30 metres in height</a>). Victims across 14 countries in the regions with Indonesia being the hardest-hit, followed by Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. There was no tsunami warning system in place.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">=8</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Damghan, Iran</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">856</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">200,000</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">7.9</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Estimated that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/856_Damghan_earthquake">extent of the damage area was 220 miles long</a>. It's also hypothesised that the ancient city of Šahr-e Qumis was so badly damaged that it was abandoned after the earthquake.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">=8</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Gansu, China</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">1920</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">200,000</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">8.3</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Damage occurred <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Haiyuan_earthquake">across 7 provinces and regions</a>. In some cities almost all buildings collapsed, or were buried by landslides. It was reported than additional deaths occurred due to cold exposure: fear from aftershocks meant survivors tried to rely only on temporary shelters which were unsuitable for the harsh winter.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">9</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Dvin, Armenia</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">893</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">150,000</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Unknown</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">City of Dvin was destroyed, with the collapse of most buildings, defensive walls and palaces; <a href="https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/1795/1/22%20hasrat'yan.pdf">estimated that only 100 buildings were left standing</a>. With its city defences ruined, Dvin was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/893_Dvin_earthquake">taken over and turned into a military base</a> by Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj, the Sajid emir of Adharbayjan.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">10</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Tokyo, Japan</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">1923</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">142,807</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">7.9</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">More than <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Tokyo-Yokohama-earthquake-of-1923">half of brick buildings, and 10% of reinforced structures</a> collapsed. Caused a tsunami with height up to 12m. Large fires broke out; combined with a large tornado, these spread quickly. </td></tr></tbody></table></div> | {
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"rendered": "\n<div class=\"blog-info\">Our World in Data presents the empirical evidence on global development in entries dedicated to specific topics.<br>This blog post draws on data and research discussed in our entry on <strong><a href=\"https://owid.cloud/natural-disasters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Natural Disasters</a></strong>.</div>\n\n\n\n<p>The number of people dying in natural disasters is <a href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters#number-of-deaths-from-natural-disasters\">lower today</a> than it was in the past; the world has become more resilient.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earthquakes, however, can still claim a large number of lives. Whilst historically, floods, droughts, and epidemics dominated disaster deaths, a high annual death toll in recent years often results from a major earthquake and possibly a tsunami caused by them. Since 2000, the two peak years in annual death tolls (reaching hundreds of thousands) were 2004 and 2010. Earthquake deaths accounted for 93 percent and 69 percent of disaster deaths, respectively. Both events (the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004 and the Port-au-Prince earthquake in 2010) are in the deadliest earthquake rankings below.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What have been the most deadly earthquakes in human history? In the visualization, we have mapped the top 10 rankings of known earthquakes, which resulted in the largest number of deaths.{ref}Since two events are ranked equally in 8th place, a total of 11 are included.{/ref} This ranking is based on mortality estimates from the NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC).{ref}National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Significant Earthquake Database. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. Available at:\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1</a>.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clicking on the visualization will open it in higher resolution. This ranking is also summarized in table form.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most deadly earthquake in history was in Shaanxi, China in 1556. It’s estimated to have killed 830,000 people. This is more than twice that of the second most fatal: the recent Port-au-Prince earthquake in Haiti in 2010. It’s reported that 316,000 people died as a result.{ref}The death toll of the Haitian earthquake is still disputed. Here, we present the adopted figure by the NGDC of the NOAA (for consistency with other earthquakes); this is the figure\u0003 reported by the Haitian government. Some sources suggest a lower figure of 220,000. In the latter case, this event would fall to 7th place in the above rankings.{/ref}</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two very recent earthquakes \u2014 the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004 and the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake \u2014 feature amongst the most deadly in human history. But equally, some of the most fatal occurred in the very distant past. The third deadliest was the earthquake in Antakya (Turkey) in 115 CE. Both old and very recent earthquakes feature near the top of the list. The deadly nature of earthquakes has been a persistent threat throughout our history.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"750\" height=\"508\" src=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes-750x508.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20882\" srcset=\"https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes-750x508.png 750w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes-150x102.png 150w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes-400x271.png 400w, https://owid.cloud/app/uploads/2018/10/Deadliest-earthquakes-768x520.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" /></a></figure></div>\n\n\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-100\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-100\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Ranking</th><th class=\"column-2\">Location</th><th class=\"column-3\">Year</th><th class=\"column-4\">Estimated death toll</th><th class=\"column-5\">Earthquake magnitude </th><th class=\"column-6\">Additional information</th>\n</tr>\n</thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">1</td><td class=\"column-2\">Shaanxi, China</td><td class=\"column-3\">1556</td><td class=\"column-4\">830,000</td><td class=\"column-5\">8</td><td class=\"column-6\">More than <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake\">97 counties in China</a> were affected. A 520-mile wide area destroyed. In some counties it's estimated that up to 60% of the population died. Such catastrophic losses are attributed to loess cave settlements, which collapsed as a result.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">2</td><td class=\"column-2\">Port-au-Prince, Haiti</td><td class=\"column-3\">2010</td><td class=\"column-4\">316,000</td><td class=\"column-5\">7</td><td class=\"column-6\">Death toll is still disputed. Here we present the adopted figure by the NGDC of the NOAA (for consistency with other earthquakes); this is the figure\u0003 reported by the Haitian government. Some sources suggest a lower figure of 220,000. In the latter case, this event would fall to 7th place in the above rankings.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">3</td><td class=\"column-2\">Antakya, Turkey</td><td class=\"column-3\">115</td><td class=\"column-4\">260,000</td><td class=\"column-5\">7.5</td><td class=\"column-6\">Antioch (ancient ruins which lie near the modern city Antakya) and surrounding areas suffered severe damage. Apamea was <a href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X03001444\">also destroyed and Beirut suffered severe damage</a>. A local <a href=\"https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf\">tsunami was triggered</a> causing damage to the coast of Lebanon.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">4</td><td class=\"column-2\">Antakya, Turkey</td><td class=\"column-3\">525</td><td class=\"column-4\">250,000</td><td class=\"column-5\">7</td><td class=\"column-6\">Severe damage to the area of the Byzantine Empire. The earthquake caused severe damage to many buildings. However, severe damage was also <a href=\"https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf\">caused by fires in the aftermath</a> combined with strong wind.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">5</td><td class=\"column-2\">Tangshan, China</td><td class=\"column-3\">1976</td><td class=\"column-4\">242,769</td><td class=\"column-5\">7.5</td><td class=\"column-6\">Reported that the earthquake risk had been greatly underestimated meaning almost all buildings and structures were designed and built without seismic considerations. Estimated that <a href=\"https://authors.library.caltech.edu/26539/\">up to 85% of buildings collapsed</a>. Tangshan therefore large comprised of <a href=\"https://www.nap.edu/login.php?record_id=19764\">unreinforced brick buildings</a> which resulted in a large death toll.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">6</td><td class=\"column-2\">Gyzndzha, Azerbaijan</td><td class=\"column-3\">1139</td><td class=\"column-4\">230,000</td><td class=\"column-5\">Unknown</td><td class=\"column-6\">Often <a href=\"https://www.seismology.az/en/stations/5#.W7aH-ZM-eL8\">termed the Ganja earthquake</a>. Much less is documented on the specific details of this event.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-8 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">7</td><td class=\"column-2\">Sumatra, Indonesia</td><td class=\"column-3\">2004</td><td class=\"column-4\">227,899</td><td class=\"column-5\">9.1</td><td class=\"column-6\">Earthquake in Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra resulted in a series of large tsunamis (<a href=\"https://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/03/\">ranging 15 to 30 metres in height</a>). Victims across 14 countries in the regions with Indonesia being the hardest-hit, followed by Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. There was no tsunami warning system in place.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-9 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">8</td><td class=\"column-2\">Damghan, Iran</td><td class=\"column-3\">856</td><td class=\"column-4\">200,000</td><td class=\"column-5\">7.9</td><td class=\"column-6\">Estimated that <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/856_Damghan_earthquake\">extent of the damage area was 220 miles long</a>. It's also hypothesised that the ancient city of \u0160ahr-e Qumis was so badly damaged that it was abandoned after the earthquake.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-10 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">8</td><td class=\"column-2\">Gansu, China</td><td class=\"column-3\">1920</td><td class=\"column-4\">200,000</td><td class=\"column-5\">8.3</td><td class=\"column-6\">Damage occurred <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Haiyuan_earthquake\">across 7 provinces and regions</a>. In some cities almost all buildings collapsed, or were buried by landslides. It was reported than additional deaths occurred due to cold exposure: fear from aftershocks meant survivors tried to rely only on temporary shelters which were unsuitable for the harsh winter.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-11 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">9</td><td class=\"column-2\">Dvin, Armenia</td><td class=\"column-3\">893</td><td class=\"column-4\">150,000</td><td class=\"column-5\">Unknown</td><td class=\"column-6\">City of Dvin was destroyed, with the collapse of most buildings, defensive walls and palaces; <a href=\"https://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/1795/1/22%20hasrat'yan.pdf\">estimated that only 100 buildings were left standing</a>. With its city defences ruined, Dvin was <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/893_Dvin_earthquake\">taken over and turned into a military base</a> by Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj, the Sajid emir of Adharbayjan.</td>\n</tr>\n<tr class=\"row-12 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">10</td><td class=\"column-2\">Tokyo, Japan</td><td class=\"column-3\">1923</td><td class=\"column-4\">142,807</td><td class=\"column-5\">7.9</td><td class=\"column-6\">More than <a href=\"https://www.britannica.com/event/Tokyo-Yokohama-earthquake-of-1923\">half of brick buildings, and 10% of reinforced structures</a> collapsed. Caused a tsunami with height up to 12m. Large fires broke out; combined with a large tornado, these spread quickly. </td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\n\n",
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