5 Biggest Catastrophes Recorded in Human History

1. Great Fire Of London, The Greatest Fire In Human History

It was September 5, 1666 when the Great Fire of London swept through most of the city parts. The fire is said to be the most devastating fire in the history of mankind as it destroyed more than 70 thousand houses across London and as many as 80 thousand people were trapped and killed in this enormous ball of fire. As per records the fire started at the bakery of Thomas Farriner which was located on the Pudding Lane and shortly it began to spread across the west destroying the City of London. The firefighting techniques were brought into the action but since they were never prepared to handle such a monstrous fire they failed. The Great Fire of London went on for 4 days in which many people had to run away from their homes, though many few were able to do that. Today, the Monument to the Great Fire of London stands at the northern end of London Bridge.

2. 1970 Bhola Cyclone, The Most Destructive Hurricane Ever

The deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded is the 1970 Bhola Cyclone that hit East Pakistan (Bangladesh today) and India’s West Bengal on November 12, 1970. While the exact death toll is unknown it is estimated that 3 to 5 million people perished in the aftermath of this storm, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters of recent history. This cyclone was not extremely large, reaching strengths equivalent of a Category 3 Hurricane. The killing power of this storm was almost completely attributed to the cyclone’s surge which flooded most of the low lying islands in the Ganges Delta, literally wiping villages and crops off the face of the earth.

3. The 1960 Chile Earthquake, The Greatest Earthquake Ever Recorded

There have been a lot of really big earthquakes throughout human history but biggest earthquake ever recorded was 1960 Chile earthquake. . It measured a 9.5 on the Moment Magnitude (Mw) scale, but registered only an 8.5 on the Ms scale. The epicenter of the earthquake was 60km down below the ocean floor about 100 miles off the coast of Chile out in the Pacific. The nearby towns of Valdivia and Puerto Montt suffered devastating damage because of their closeness to the center of such a massive quake. The loss of human life was not as bad as it could have been because there were large foreshocks that sent people into the streets. About 30 minutes after the foreshocks, when the main jolt came, many people were still outside calming their jitters from the first shock. The buildings and homes that fell had pretty much vacated. However, damage cost estimates were over a half billion dollars. Huge landslides, massive flows of earthen debris and rock, were sent tumbling down mountain slopes. Some landslides were so enormous they changed the course of major rivers.

4. May 2004 Tornado Outbreak Sequence, The wildest Tornado Ever Recorded

The May 2004 Tornado Outbreak Sequence was a series of tornado outbreaks that affected much of southern Ontario, the Central and Southern United States from east of the Rockies to the Mid-Atlantic States from May 21 to May 31, 2004. Particularly hard hit were the central Plains from Missouri to Iowa and the Ohio Valley. The Central Plains were hit by two significant outbreak on May 22 and May 24, the first outbreak which produced a very large and violent tornado in Hallam, Nebraska. The Ohio Valley was affected by one of the largest tornado outbreaks ever during the Memorial Day weekend on May 29-30. The village of Hallam, struck at 8:33 p.m., was the hardest hit. Approximately 95% of the buildings in Hallam were damaged or destroyed. There were 37 people injured and one fatality in the village. At 2.5 miles (4 km) wide as it passed through Hallam, there are some claims that this tornado was the widest tornado ever recorded.

5. The Great Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004,The Deadliest Tsunami in History

The earthquake that generated the great Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 is estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Giant forces that had been building up deep in the Earth for hundreds of years were released suddenly on December 26, shaking the ground violently and unleashing a series of killer waves that sped across the Indian Ocean at the speed of a jet airliner. By the end of the day more than 150,000 people were dead or missing and millions more were homeless in 11 countries, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in history. The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to the USGS, which monitors earthquakes worldwide.

Disclaimer: There may be catastrophes bigger than these in early history, but on the record, the above mentioned disasters are the biggest.