Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
Tsunami
A tsunami also called a tsunami wave train, and at one time incorrectly referred to as a tidal wave, is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, though it can occur in large lakes.
Tornado
A tornado (often referred to as a twister or, erroneously, a cyclone) is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud.
Floods
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water
Volcanic Eruptions
Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent disaster through several ways. The effects include the volcanic eruption itself that may cause harm following the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock.
Deadliest Earthquakes on Record
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| Rank | Name | Date | Location | Fatalities | Mag. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Shaanxi" | January 23, 1556 | Shaanxi, China | 820,000– 830,000 (est.) | 8.0 (est.) |
| 2 | "Tangshan" | July 28, 1976 | Tangshan, China | 242,419– 779,000 | 7.5-7.8 |
| 3 | "Antioch" | May 21, 525 | Antioch, Turkey (then Byzantine Empire) | 250,000 | 8.0 (est.) |
| 4 | "Gansu" | December 16, 1920 | Ningxia–Gansu, China | 235,502 | 7.8 |
| 5 | "Indian Ocean" | December 26, 2004 | Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia | 230,210+ | 9.1–9.3 |
| 6 | "Aleppo" | October 11, 1138 | Aleppo, Syria | 230,000 | Unknown |
| 7 | "Haiti" | January 12, 2010 | Haiti | 222,570 (Haitian sources) 50,000-92,000 (non-Haitian sources) | 7.0 |
| 8 | "Damghan" | December 22, 856 | Damghan, Iran | 200,000 (est) | 7.9 (est.) |
| 9 | "Ardabil" | March 22, 893 | Ardabil, Iran | 150,000 (est) | Unknown |
| 10 | "Great Kantō" | September 1, 1923 | Kantō region, Japan | 142,000 | 7.9 |
| 11 | "Messina" | December 28, 1908 | Messina, Italy | 123,000 | 7.1 |
| 12 | "Ashgabat" | October 6, 1948 | Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | 110,000 | 7.3 |
| 13 | "Genroku" | December 31, 1703 | Edo, Japan | 108,800+ | Unknown |
| 14 | "Lisbon" | November 1, 1755 | Lisbon, Portugal | 10,000– 100,000 | 8.7-9.0 (est.) |
