1. Canada
   Italy
2. India
   Russia

Mount Vesuvius was dormant for around 800 years before erupting in 79 AD, according to the British Museum. The eruption killed 2,000 people and buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In 1748, these cities were rediscovered, preserved in time beneath layers of ash and rock.

1. New Orleans
   Miami
2. Galveston
   Tallahassee

Hurricane Katrina was such a massive storm that it pretty much covered the entire Gulf of Mexico. By the time it hit New Orleans in August 2005, it was a Category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph of more, according to National Geographic. The low-lying city's levees couldn't hold up to the storm surge, resulting in massive floods that changed New Orleans forever.

1. Bermuda
   Haiti
2. Bahamas
   Aruba

On Jan. 12, 2010, an earthquake that the U.S. Geological Survey estimated at 7.0 magnitude struck near the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The nation was left in chaos, with few resources to help the victims. At least 100,000 lost their homes, and estimates of those killed range from 100,000 to 300,000 or more.

1. France
   New Zealand
2. Iran
   Canada

Snow fell pretty much continuously from Feb. 3-8 in Iran in 1972. The New York Times estimated that some areas received 26 feet or more, enough to completely bury local villages and kill all who lived there. Around 4,000 people perished in this deadliest blizzard in history.

1. 1706
   1856
2. 1906
   2006

April 18, 1906 was a bad day for the city of San Francisco. Not only did a magnitude 8.3 earthquake violently shake the city, but the activity ruptured gas lines, resulting in fires that burned 80 to 90 percent of the city, according to the Library of Congress. Around 3,000 people died in the earthquake and the blaze.

1. Galveston
   Houston
2. Austin
   Dallas

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, calls the 1900 Hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas the "deadliest natural disaster in American history." Between 6,000 and 12,000 people were killed when the Category 4 storm struck this bustling port island. The storm was so damaging that Galveston never again became the hub of business and activity that it was before 1900.

1. Mediterranean Sea
   English Channel
2. Indian Ocean
   Arctic Ocean

Locals and travelers relaxing at resorts in the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, 2004 were taken by surprise when 100-foot tsunamis swept across the beaches. Caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter near Sumatra, Indonesia, the disaster killed an estimated 280,000 people in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, India and local island nations, according to the World Health Organization.

1. Montana
   New York
2. Delaware
   Wisconsin

On October 8, 1871, around 3 square miles of Chicago burned in a major fire. The Peshtigo Fire in northeast Wisconsin gets less attention because it started on the same day as the one of Chicago, even though Peshtigo was much more deadly and destructive. Just 250 miles north of Chicago, a forest fire near Peshtigo killed 1,200 people and burned over a million acres, according to the National Weather Service.

1. China
   Indonesia
2. Japan
   Vietnam

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit near Honshu, Japan. The largest earthquake to strike the island nation in over a century killed 15,000 people, triggered a tsunami more than 100 feet tall and caused a serious meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant that led to the evacuation of thousands of homes.

1. Civil War
   American Revolution
2. WWI
   WWII

On Dec. 13, 1916, a series of avalanches in the Alps killed an estimated 10,000 soldiers fighting in WWI battles. Roughly 300 Austrian troops were killed as the White Friday avalanches sent 200,000 tons of rock and ice down on their barracks, according to the History Channel.

1. Florida
   South Carolina
2. Texas
   Mississippi

After powering through the islands, a brutal hurricane struck Florida on Sept. 16, 1928. Winds in excess of 145 mph sent water surging over the banks of Lake Okeechobee. Floods as deep as 20 feet led to the drowning deaths of 2,500 people in central Florida, according to the National Weather Service.

1. Mexico
   Turkey
2. Australia
   Russia

The 526 Antioch earthquake happened near what is now known as the city of Antakya in southern Turkey. The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration estimates it was a magnitude 7.0 quake that struck the city that May, killing 250,000 and destroying many of the structures.

1. Canada
   England
2. France
   Venezuela

Rain fell heavily for three days in December 1999 in northern Venezuela, resulting in flash floods that triggered a major avalanche on Avila Mountain. According to BBC News, between 10,000 and 30,000 people died in what has been dubbed the Vargas Tragedy, in which some neighborhoods were left buried under 10 feet of mud.

1. Italy
   India
2. Indonesia
   New Zealand

The Ganges is one of the biggest rivers in India, and in 1739 a major cyclone caused it to overflow its banks. The University of Rhode Island estimates that 25,000 boats were destroyed and as many as 350,000 people were killed in the resulting floods.

1. Australia
   Mexico
2. Indonesia
   Italy

Indonesia's Mount Tambor erupted on April 5, 1816. The eruption was so extreme that it shrunk the mountain by around 5,000 feet and killed 70,000 people, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Particulate matter and ash lingered in the air all over the globe for a year, resulting in 1817 being "The Year Without a Summer."

1. Blizzard
   Flood
2. Avalanche
   Typhoon

In Tydal Norway, you'll find memorials and an annual service, Karolinerspelet, to honor the men who died in a 1719 blizzard. As 6,000 soldiers retreated from Sweden back home to Norway, a blizzard struck, killing more than half the men before they could make it home.

1. Florida
   Hawaii
2. Massachusetts
   Pennsylvania

Located 60 miles east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, PA was the site of a horrible flood in 1889. Lake Conemaugh, which was a man-made lake formed by a massive earthen dam, collapsed after heavy rain on May 31, 1889, sending water rushing downstream and killing 2,200 in the Johnstown area.

1. Peru
   South Africa
2. Canada
   Iraq

Peru suffered a major avalanche near Huascaran Mountain in the Andes on May 31, 1970. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 70,000 were killed and 80 percent of all local structures were destroyed when an avalanche a mile long tumbled down the mountain.

1. China
   Myanmar
2. Japan
   Russia

A 7.75 magnitude earthquake triggered a landslide that blocked the Dadu River with an artificial dam in June 1786. Ten days after the earthquake, the natural dam burst, allowing the backed-up Dadu to rush through the Sichuan region of China, killing 100,000 people.

1. China
   Japan
2. Vietnam
   South Korea

The 1920 Haiyun, or Gansu, earthquake killed 73,000 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In some cities in central China, every single home was destroyed, and the quake was so forceful that some rivers even changed course.

1. Hollywood Fire
   Camp Fire
2. North Star Fire
   Redwoods Fire

Named for Camp Creek Road, where the fire began, the California Camp Fire burned from Nov. 8-25. It destroyed 14,000 homes and killed 86 people, according to CNN. In 2019, Pacific Gas and Electric alerted media that it was probably a piece of their equipment that sparked the blaze.

1. Maria
   Katrina
2. Hugo
   Sandy

Maria was a Category 5 Hurricane that hit Puerto Rico, an island of more than 3 million, in September 2017, killing 3,000 people. Three months after the storm, only about half of the residents had power restored, and it took a full year until almost everyone in Puerto Rico had electricity in their homes again.

1. Floods
   Hurricanes
2. Blizzards
   Tornadoes

If you were to list the worst disasters in history by death toll, the top three are all floods — and all happened in China. The 1931 Yangtze River floods killed as many as 4 million, while 1887 and 1938 floods on China's Yellow River killed up to 2 million and as many as 800,000, respectively.

1. Cyclone
   Blizzard
2. Drought
   Heat wave

The Bhola Cyclone swept through India and eastern Pakistan on Nov. 12, 1970. With winds of 100 mph or more, the storm killed a staggering 500,000 people and left low-lying areas completely under water. In the Upazila region of Bangladesh, around half of the entire population was lost to the storm.

1. 1874
   1926
2. 1993
   2016

The Great Blizzard of 1993 left up to 30 inches of snow stretching from Alabama to Maine. The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration estimates that 30 percent of the U.S. population was effected by this storm, which killed 200 people.

1. Tambour
   Vesuvius
2. Helena
   Krakatoa

Dormant for 200 years, Indonesia's Mount Krakatoa shot ash miles into the sky when it erupted on Aug. 26, 1883, triggering tsunamis and landslides. The sound of the eruption could be heard 3,000 miles away, and an estimated 35,000 people lost their lives.

1. Memorial Day
   Easter
2. Labor Day
   Christmas

The Great Depression left many Americans struggling to survive, including WWI vets. The federal government put these veterans to work building a road to connect Key West to the Florida mainland. Sadly, many were killed when a category 5 hurricane swept through the area with winds in excess of 200 mph, knocking a rescue train sent to save the men right off the tracks. Today we remember this event as the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane.

1. Iran
   Bangladesh
2. China
   Myanmar

The Daulatpur-Saturia tornado on April 26, 1989 that struck Bangladesh is the deadliest in history. Carving a path a mile wide and 10 miles long, it killed 1,300 people and destroyed countless homes. As a point of reference, the deadliest tornado to hit the U.S. killed around half this number.

1. Yellowstone
   Yosemite
2. Acadia
   Great Smoky Mountains

Tourism in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee was threatened by the November 2016 wildfire that swept through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area. An estimated 14 people died and 1,600 structures were damaged, according to "Wildfire Today."

1. Ash
   Rock
2. Carbon dioxide
   Aluminum

The rare lake with high carbon dioxide concentration can eventually erupt, spewing a cloud of carbon dioxide into the air that can suffocate people and animals nearby. Known as a limnic eruption, it's happened at least twice in Cameroon, killing 37 people near Lake Monoun in 1984 and 1,700 near Lake Nyos in 1986.

1. 1787
   1888
2. 1933
   1999

On Jan. 12, 1888, a warm day turned to disaster when a blizzard swept through Nebraska, dropping temperatures to 30 below zero and trapping children in schoolhouses across the plains. A few months later, the east coast was hit by a mid-March blizzard that dropped snow from Maryland to Maine, killing 400 people.

1. 1556
   1678
2. 1790
   1902

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake that struck China to have been around 8.0 magnitude. Its effects were felt hundreds of miles away, and 830,000 people died in the event. Some cities, such as Huaxian, were particularly hard hit, losing more than half of the local population in a single day.

1. Illinois
   Kentucky
2. Iowa
   Kansas

America's deadliest twister was the March 18, 1925, Tri-State tornado that carved a 219-mile path through Mississippi, Illinois and Indiana. The F5 tornado claimed 695 lives, the most of any twister to ever touch down in the U.S., according to the History Channel.

1. Earthquake
   Typhoon
2. Tornado
   Tsunami

Typhoon Nina brought winds of 115 mph or more to Hualien, China on Aug. 3, 1975. Even though the Banqiao Dam had been designed for a 1,000-year flood, the powerful typhoon still managed to destroy it, sending the Ru River crashing along the landscape and killing an estimated 85,000 people.

1. Tornado
   Hurricane
2. Heat wave
   Avalanche

July and August 2003 brought temperatures that were 20 to 30 percent above average in western Europe, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The soaring mercury caused glaciers in the Alps to melt and killed as many as 35,000 people — 14,000 in France alone.