| c. 2900 BC | Middle East | The Deluge or Flood commemorated in Sumerian and biblical legend is most likely to have happened at this time. Archaeological evidence suggests more than one flood. |
| c. 1470 BC | Egypt, Crete | The island of Thera is destroyed in a volcanic eruption. It causes a tidal wave and subsequent famine in Egypt, and destroys the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete over 120 km/75 mi away. It may be the source of the Atlantis myth. |
| 465 BC–462 BC | Greece | The Greek city-state of Sparta is unable to help the island of Thasos fight off the Athenians, despite increasing concern at the rise of Athens as an imperial power, as the Spartans have their own troubles at home – they are suffering the effects of a severe earthquake and the ensuing revolt of the helots (serfs) in Messenia. |
| 24 August 79 | Roman Empire | Mount Vesuvius, in southern Italy, erupts, accompanied by violent earthquakes; Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiae are buried in ash and their citizens are overcome by poisonous gases. |
| 526 | Asia Minor | A massive earthquake in Asia Minor destroys the city of Antioch, and kills over 200,000 people. |
| 536 | Southeast Asia | Dust from volcanic eruptions in Southeast Asia is flung high in the atmosphere, blocking out sunlight and cooling the climate, causing a severe winter as far away as Europe, where the Mediterranean is covered by a ‘dry fog’. |
| 1421 | Burgundian Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire | More than 100,000 people die in over 70 Dutch villages when the Zuider Zee floods. |
| 1453–1457 | China, Ming Empire | A series of natural disasters including blizzards, floods, drought, and earthquakes causes widespread famine and internal migration in China. |
| 26 January 1531 | Portugal | An earthquake destroys the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, killing 50,000 people. The superstitious associate the disaster with the appearance of a ‘Great Comet’ in the sky. |
| 24 January 1556 | China, Ming Empire | A huge earthquake, the worst ever recorded, hits the Shanxi province of China, leaving more than 830,000 dead. |
| 2–5 September 1666 | UK | The Great Fire devastates the city of London, England. Many buildings are destroyed, including St Paul's Cathedral and the Guildhall. |
| 30 December 1703 | Japan | An earthquake and resulting fire kills around 200,000 people and destroys the city of Edo (modern Tokyo), Japan. |
| 1752 | Russia | A major fire in Moscow, Russia, destroys 18,000 houses. |
| 1 November 1755 | Portugal | A massive earthquake, the largest ever known in Europe, destroys Lisbon, Portugal, and over 30,000 people are killed in the quake itself, and the tidal wave and fire which follow it. |
| 21 March 1788 | USA | A great fire in New Orleans, Louisiana, destroys nearly the entire city. |
| 16 December 1811 | USA | The first, and largest, earthquake recorded in the USA destroys the city of New Madrid, Missouri. Two other earthquakes hit the town on 23 January and 7 February 1812. |
| 5 April 1815 | Netherlands East Indies | Tambora volcano, on Sumbawa island in the Netherlands East Indies, erupts violently, killing 50,000 people. Its height diminishes by 1,220 m/4,000 ft, while dust clouds affect the world's climate. |
| 15 February 1849 | UK | Sixty-five people die when the Theatre Royal in London, England, burns down. |
| 15 July 1856 | UK | A gas explosion in a colliery in South Wales kills 114 miners. |
| 8 December 1863 | Chile | The Church of La Compañia, in Santiago, Chile, burns down, killing 2,500 people. |
| 5 June 1870 | Ottoman Empire | A fire in Constantinople, in the Ottoman Empire, kills 900 people. |
| 1–30 March 1882 | USA | Floods along the Mississippi River in the USA leave about 85,000 people homeless. |
| 26–28 August 1883 | Indonesia | Krakatoa volcano, Indonesia, erupts in one of the most catastrophic volcanic events in human history. The climactic explosion on the second day is heard nearly 3,000 miles away. Over 36,000 people in Sumatra and Java are drowned by an ensuing tsunami (tidal wave) 35 m/115 ft high, and dust, which is thrown 80 km/50 mi into the air, drifts around the world, causing spectacular sunsets for over a year. |
| 1 September 1894 | USA | In Hinckley, Minnesota, 480 people die as a result of a forest fire. |
| 31 May 1903 | USA | The flooding Kansas, Missouri, and Des Moines rivers kill more than 200 people and leave 8,000 others without homes. |
| 30 June 1908 | Russian Empire | An aerial explosion equivalent to 10–15 megatons of TNT flattens approximately 2,000 sq km/1,243 mi of forest near the Tunguska River, Siberia, Russian Empire. No meteorite fragments are discovered but it is thought to have been a fragment of a comet disintegrating in the atmosphere. |
| 28 December 1908 | Italy | An earthquake hits the region of the Strait of Messina, between Sicily and South Calabria, Italy, estimated to measure 7.5 on the Richter scale. The towns of Messina in Sicily and Reggio di Calabria on the mainland are the worst hit, and are both devastated, with Reggio di Calabria suffering a tidal wave following the earthquake. Estimates of the death toll vary between 75,000 and 200,000, most deaths occurring in the two towns. It is Europe's worst earthquake. |
| 1 September 1923 | Japan | Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan, are destroyed by an earthquake estimated to measure 8.3 on the Richter scale; 140,000 die. |
| April 1927 | USA | The flooding Mississippi River overflows onto 16,000 sq km/6250 sq mi, leaving 600,000 people without homes for weeks and causing $300 million in property damage. |
| August 1931 | China | One of the worst floods in history occurs when the Huang Ho River, China, overflows its banks; 3.7 million people die. |
| 30 November 1936 | UK | The Crystal Palace at Sydenham, London, England, is destroyed by fire. |
| 27 March 1964 | USA | An earthquake measuring between 8.3 and 8.5 (later amended upward) on the Richter scale strikes Anchorage in Alaska. Although the sparse population limits casualties to 131, it is the most severe earthquake ever recorded in North America. An area of 120,000 sq km/75,000 sq mi is tilted and in some places adjacent sections of land are separated by 25 m/82 ft. |
| 28 July 1976 | China | An earthquake in Tangshan, China, measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale levels nearly every building and kills 242,000 people. It is the worst earthquake in modern history. |
| 18 May 1980 | USA | Mount St Helens volcano in Washington state, USA, erupts explosively in a blast 500 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, causing an outbreak of fires, mudslides, and floods; 57 people die in the largest eruption in US history. Ash from the volcano blankets the surrounding area and effects global temperature readings for months to come. |
| 1988 | USA | The USA experiences its worst drought since 1934, forcing it to import grain for the first time ever. |
| 17 October 1989 | USA | An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale hits San Francisco, California, killing at least 273 people, many of whom die when the upper level of the Nimitz Highway collapses. It is North America's most destructive earthquake since 1906, causing at least $6 billion in property damage. |
| June 1991 | Philippines | Mount Pinatubo on Luzon, in the Philippines, erupts in the third-largest eruption this century. Clouds of ash are sent 20 km/12 mi into the atmosphere along with the greatest volume of sulphur dioxide ever measured. Timely warnings lead to the evacuation of 56,000 people and there are only a few deaths. |
| 24 August 1992 | USA | Hurricane Andrew strikes the coast of south Florida, killing 38 people and leaving about 250,000 people without homes and causing $30 billion of property damage. Insurance claims make this the most expensive natural disaster in US history. |
| 28 August 1992 | USA | Typhoon Omar strikes Guam, a US territory in the Pacific, damaging about one-eighth of the island's 32,000 homes. |
| 1993 | India | An earthquake in India kills 20,000 people. |
| 4 February 1998 | Afghanistan | Nearly 4,000 people are killed and 30,000 lose their homes when an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hits the mountainous province of Takhar in northern Afghanistan. |
| 17 July 1998 | Papua New Guinea | A 10-m/30-ft tidal wave hits the north coast of Papua New Guinea, inundating several villages and killing an estimated 6,000 people. Of the survivors 70% are adults; a generation of children is wiped out. |
| 2 November 1998 | Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua | Tropical storm Mitch rages through Honduras with a death toll of as many as 5,000 people there and more than 7,000 people in total, including victims in neighbouring El Salvador and Nicaragua. In the worst storm to hit Central America this century, floods and landslides cause mass destruction. |
| March 1999 | USA | Scientists discover a previously undetected fault running under Los Angeles, California, that could potentially cause a major earthquake. The Puente Hills fault extends for 40 km/25 mi. |
| 17 August 1999 | Turkey | An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale strikes a densely populated industrial area of northwestern Turkey, near Izmit. The initial death toll rises to 2,000, but will exceed 13,000 by the following week. |
| 26 January 2001 | India | The state of Gujarat in western India is devastated by an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, killing as many as 20,000 people. |
| 22 June 2002 | Iran | About 230 people are killed and some 12,000 made homeless as an earthquake hits Qazvin province in north-west Iran. |
| 24 February 2003 | China | An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang kills over 260 people, injures about 1,000 more, and makes thousands homeless. It is the worst earthquake in China for more than 50 years. |
| 21 May 2003 | Algeria | A major earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale in northern Algeria kills at least 2,200 people and injures thousands more. |
| 18–19 September 2003 | USA | Hurricane Isabel strikes the eastern seaboard of the USA, causing widespread destruction, power and transport disruption, and flooding, particularly in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the federal capital of Washington, DC. At least 30 deaths are blamed on the storm. |
| 26 September 2003 | Japan | The island of Hokkaido in northern Japan is struck by powerful earthquakes measuring up to 8.0 on the Richter scale, some of the strongest tremors in the world during 2003. Nearly 600 people are injured. |
| 26 December 2003 | Iran | An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale devastates the Iranian town of Bam in the southeast of the country. The death toll of at least 28,000 is expected to rise further. |
| 28 March 2005 | Indonesia | The west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, still struggling to recover from the earthquake and tsunami on 26 December 2004, is hit by another huge under-sea tremor. Although this earthquake, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, does not trigger a tidal surge, it devastates the islands of Nias and Simeulue. Over 400 people are confirmed dead with many missing. |
| 29–31 August 2005 | USA | The southern states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on the Gulf coast of the USA are lashed by Hurricane Katrina. The low-lying city of New Orleans is devastated by flooding as levees are breached, trapping thousands of residents, cutting off access to essential supplies, and prompting looting and violence. Damage to energy installations along the Gulf and the threat of shortages meanwhile contribute to the continuing record rise in oil prices. At the end of the month, with the death toll from one of the worst natural disasters in US history still unknown, the government declares a public health emergency. |
| 23–30 September 2005 | USA | Only about three weeks after Hurricane Katrina battered the southern states on the Gulf coast of the USA and flooded the city of New Orleans, Hurricane Rita strikes Louisiana again and also Texas. However, Rita is less ferocious and the federal and state authorities, stung by accusations of inaction and complacency in the Katrina disaster, are better prepared, implementing a civil evacuation to minimize casualties. By the end of the month, the death toll from Hurricane Katrina is believed to have reached about 1,200, much less than originally feared. |
| 8–31 October 2005 | Pakistan India | A massive earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale strikes Kashmir, devastating Pakistani-administered areas of the disputed territory in particular. By the end of the month over 70,000 victims are thought to have died, with many remote areas yet to be reached by relief aid agencies. As the Himalayan winter approaches, more than 3 million people are without shelter, threatening to compound the humanitarian disaster. |
| 11–13 December 2005 | England | An explosion at Buncefield oil terminal near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, causes the largest industrial fire in Europe since World War II which rages for two days before being extinguished by hundreds of firefighters. Despite widespread local property damage and concerns about environmental contamination, there are no fatalities. |
| 27 May 2006 | Indonesia | An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale off the southern coast of Java in Indonesia near the city of Yogyakarta kills over 6,000 people. |
| 17 July 2006 | Indonesia | An offshore earthquake south of Java in Indonesia triggers a tsunami (tidal wave) which devastates coastal settlements and kills more than 500 people. |
| 30 November 2006 | Philippines | Typhoon Durian sweeps across the central Philippines causing flash flooding and mudslides. Over 1,000 people are feared dead in the disaster. |
| 20–31 July 2007 | UK | Areas of England and Wales, particularly along the Severn and Thames rivers, are inundated by the worst flooding in decades as torrential summer rain again hits Britain following earlier deluges in June. Communities are cut off, thousands of people are left without power and water supplies, and transport is disrupted. |
| 15 August 2007 | Peru | An earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale hits the southern coast of Peru, killing around 500 people, injuring more than 1,000 and leaving 100,000 homeless. |
