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Top 10 Deadliest World Catastrophes, 2017
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Rank Date Country Event Victims (1)
1 Aug. 14 Sierra Leone Heavy rains trigger flood and massive landslide and debris flow in Babadorie River Valley 1,141
2 Nov. 12 Iran, Iraq Earthquake Mw 7.3 on the Iran-Iraq border 630
3 Aug. 12 India Floods caused by heavy monsoon rains in Bihar; River Gandak burst its banks in 8 points 514
4 Sep. 19 Mexico Earthquake Mw 7.1 369
5 Mar. 31 Colombia Torrential rains caused Mocoa, Sangoyaco and Mulato to overflow and trigger massive landslide 336
6 Dec. 22 Philippines Tropical storm Tembin (Vinta) triggers flooding 331
7 Nov. 24 Egypt Bomb explosion at a mosque 311
8 May 24 Sri Lanka Torrential rains trigger floods along the Kalu River Basin, landslides 293
9 Apr. 12 India Heat wave 264
10 Jan. 14 Zimbabwe Heavy rains exacerbated by remnants of Cyclone Dineo trigger floods 251

(1) Dead and missing.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2018.

 

Archived Tables

THE TEN DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 2008 (1)
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Rank Date Country Event Victims
1 May 2 Myanmar (Burma), Bay of Bengal Cyclone Nargis devastates Irrawaddy and Yangon Divisions; floods 138,373
2 May 12 China Sichuan Earthquake (magnitude 7.9), aftershocks 87,449
3 Jun. 19 Philippines, China, South China Sea Typhoon Fengshen/No. 6, winds up to 140 km/h, heavy rain 1,413
4 Jan. 5 Afghanistan Heavy snowfall 1,300
5 Jun. 10 India Floods caused by monsoon rain 950
6 Sep. 1 Haiti, Turks and Caicos Island et al. Hurricane Hanna, winds up to 130 km/h, floods 500
7 Nov. 28 Nigeria Clashes over disputed election results 300
8 Oct. 29 Pakistan Earthquake (magnitude 6.4), aftershock (magnitude 6.2) 300
9 Dec. 18 Bay of Bengal, Myanmar (Burma) Boats carrying illegal immigrants disappear 275
10 Sep. 8 China Mudslide causes dam to burst at Tashan ore mine 271

(1) Dead and missing.

 Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2009.

 
THE TEN DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 2009 (1)
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Rank Date Country Event Victims
1 Sep. 30 Indonesia, Indian Ocean Earthquake (Mw 7.6), aftershocks 1,195
2 Aug. 7 Taiwan, Philippines, China et al. Typhoon Morakot/ No. 8, winds up to 148 km/h; floods 930
3 Sep. 26 Philippines, Vietnam,
Cambodia et al.		 Typhoon Ketsana/ No. 16, winds up to 160 km/h; floods 854
4 Oct. 3 Philippines, China, Taiwan et al.  Typhoon Parma/ No. 17, winds up to 195 km/h, heavy rain 539
5 Jul. 1 India Floods caused by monsoon rain 520
6 Jan. 11 South China Sea, Indonesia Ferry Teratai Prima sinks 311
7 Jan. 27 Australia Heat wave with temperatures of over 43 degrees Celsius 304
8 Sep. 29 India Floods caused by heavy rain 300
9 Apr. 6 Italy Earthquake (Mw 6.3), aftershocks 296
10 May 1 Peru Low temperatures, hail and snow 274

(1) Dead and missing.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2010.

 
THE TEN DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 2010 (1)
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Rank Date Country Event Victims
1 Jan. 12 Haiti Earthquake (Mw 7.0), aftershocks 222,570
2 Jun. 15 Russia, Czech Republic Heat wave with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius 55,630
3 Apr. 14 China Earthquake (Mw 6.9), aftershocks 2,968
4 May 29 China Floods, mudslides caused by heavy monsoonal rain 2,490
5 Jul. 21 Pakistan Floods caused by heavy monsoonal rains 1,980
6 Aug. 8 China Mudslide caused by heavy rain 1,765
7 Feb. 27 Chile Earthquake (Mw 8.8) triggers tsunami, more than 200 aftershocks 562
8 Oct. 25 Indonesia Earthquake (Mw 7.8) triggers tsunami 545
9 Jul. 17 Peru, Chile, Argentina et al. Cold wave with temperatures close to freezing 522
10 Feb. 25 Uganda Floods and landslides caused by heavy rain 400

(1) Dead and missing.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2011.

 
THE TEN DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 2011 (1)
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Rank Date Country Event Victims
1 Mar. 11 Japan Earthquake (Mw 9.0) triggers tsunami; aftershocks 19,184
2 Dec. 16 Philippines Tropical Storm Washi 1,449
3 Jan. 11 Brazil Floods, mudslides caused by heavy rains 902
4 Jan. 25 Egypt Anti-government demonstrations 846
5 Jul. 27 Thailand Flood caused by heavy monsoon rains 813
6 Oct. 23 Turkey Earthquake (Mw 7.2); over 400 aftershocks 644
7 Aug. 1 Pakistan Floods caused by heavy rains 456
8 Apr. 22 U.S. Severe storms, tornadoes 354
9 Jun. 3 China Floods caused by heavy monsoonal rains, landslides 350
10 Aug. 13 Cambodia, Vietnam Floods caused by heavy rains 320

(1) Dead and missing.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2012.

 
THE TEN DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 2013
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Rank Date Country Event Victims (1)
1 Nov. 8 Philippines, et al. Typhoon Haiyan, storm surge 7,345
2 Jun. 14 India Floods caused by heavy monsoon rains 5,748
3 Apr. 24 Bangladesh Eight-story garment factory collapses 1,127
4 Aug. 6 U.K. Heat wave 760
5 Apr. 1 India Heat wave 531
6 Sep. 24 Pakistan Earthquake Mw 7.7, aftershocks 399
7 Jan. 1 India, et al. Cold wave 388
8 Oct. 3 Mediterranean Sea, Italy Boat carrying immigrants catches fire and capsizes 366
9 Aug. 24 Peru Heavy snowfall, freezing temperatures 275
10 Jan. 17 Mozambique, Zimbabwe Floods caused by heavy seasonal rains 246

(1) Dead and missing.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2014.

 
TOP 10 DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 2014
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Rank Date Country Event Victims (1)
1 Aug. 3 China Earthquake (Mw 6.1), aftershocks and landslides 731
2 Sep. 3 India, Pakistan Severe monsoon floods 665
3 Apr. 13 Peru Cold wave, freezing temperatures 505
4 Apr. 16 North Pacific Ocean, South Korea Passenger ferry sinks 304
5 May 13 Turkey Fire at coal mine 301
6 Jul. 17 Ukraine Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-2H6ER (FlightMH17) crashes 298
7 May 2 Afghanistan Heavy rains trigger massive landslide 256
8 Mar. 22 Uganda Overcrowded boat carrying refugees capsizes on Lake Albert 251
9 Jan. 13 Sudan Overcrowded boat capsizes on the Nile 250
10 Aug. 13 Nepal Monsoon floods 241

(1) Dead and missing.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2015.

 
Top 10 Deadliest World Catastrophes, 2015
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Rank Date Country Event Victims (1)
1 Apr. 25 Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh Earthquake (Mw 7.8), avalanche on Mount Everest, aftershocks 8,960
2 May 21 India Heatwave 2,248
3 Jun. 1 Pakistan Heatwave 1,270
4 Jul. 29 Europe Heatwave 1,200
5 Apr. 19 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Boat carrying migrants capsizes 822
6 Sep. 23 Saudi Arabia Stampede and crush at the annual Hajj pilgrimage 769
7 Jan. 12 Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe Severe floods  451
8 Jun. 1 China Cruise ship hit by strong winds and rains capsizes on Yangtze River 442
9 Apr. 13 Italy, Mediterranean Sea Boat carrying migrants capsizes 400
10 Oct. 26 Afghanistan, Pakistan, India Earthquake (Mw 7.5)  399

(1) Dead and missing.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2016.

 
Top 10 Deadliest World Catastrophes, 2016
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Rank Date Country/region Event Victims (1)
1 Sep. 28 U.S. and the Caribbean  Hurricane Matthew  734
2 Apr. 16 Ecuador  Earthquake Mw 7.8  673
3 Aug. 29 North Korea  Remnants of Typhoon Lionrock trigger floods along Tumen River  538
4 Jun. 3 Greece, Mediterranean Sea  Boat carrying migrants capsizes  358
5 Apr. 13 India  Heat waves  300
6 Aug. 24 Italy  Earthquake Mw 6.2  299
7 Jun. 30 China  Severe floods along Yangtze River  289
8 Jul. 18 China  Severe floods  289
9 Nov. 3 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya  Boat carrying migrants capsizes  240
10 Jul. 15 India  Monsoon floods  228

(1) Dead and missing.

Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 2/2017.