Replies

1908
Messina, Italy—Earthquake killed about 85,000 people.
1920
Gansu, China—Earthquake killed 200,000 people.
1923
Tokyo, Japan—Earthquake killed more than 132,000 people. Regional rivers burst their banks, bringing the total deaths to over 300,000.
1927
Xining, China—Earthquake killed about 200,000 people.
1931
Huang He (Yellow River), China—In what may be the greatest death toll due to a natural disaster, 3,700,000 people may have lost their lives in flooding.
1935
Pakistan—Quetta earthquake left 30,000–60,000 dead.
1939
Chile—Earthquake killed about 30,000 people.
1939
Northern Turkey—Earthquake caused about 100,000 deaths, mostly near Erzingan.
1954
Alaska, USA—Strongest earthquake in North America occurred east of Anchorage. Seismic wave 50 feet high traveled more than 8,000 miles at 450 mph.
1970
East Pakistan—Cyclone and tidal wave killed at least 300,000 people.
1970
Peru—Earthquake killed more than 50,000 people.
1976
Tangshan, China—Earthquake left 242,000–655,000 people dead.
1985
Mexico—Earthquake killed an estimated 25,000 people near and around Mexico City.
1985
Colombia—Earthquake killed about 25,000 people.
1989
San Francisco, California, USA—Earthquake killed 67 people.
1990
Northwest Iran—Earthquake killed at least 50,000 people.
1991
Bangladesh—Cyclone killed over 131,000 people.
1995
Osaka, Japan—Earthquake killed 5,100 people.
1995
Chicago, Illinois, USA—A July heat wave killed at least 465 people.
1998
China—At least 3,000 people were killed in flooding.
1998
Papua New Guinea—Tsunamis killed at least 2,000 people.
1999
Turkey—Earthquake killed 14,000 people.