Countries Where the Most People Have Died in Natural Disasters

The 1934 Central American Hurricane, also known as the El Salvador hurricane, struck the Central American country between June 5-8. The storm dumped 25 inches of rain in the region, causing 14 rivers in El Salvador to overflow. Most of the deaths occurred in the city San Salvador, where 2,000 reportedly perished.

In October 2005, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Kashmir region, an area both India and Pakistan claim ownership. The territory sits between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, making it a hotspot for seismic activity. Some towns were partially destroyed, with portions of land sliding off cliffs.

The Nevado Del Ruiz volcano erupted in November 1985, triggering an avalanche of melted ice and snow. The resulting lahars – a cascade of rock, mud, and water from the eruption – killed more than 20,000 people. The death toll is said to be the fourth largest single-eruption death toll in history.

Typhoon Haiyan, also called Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, was the fifth named super typhoon of the 2013 Pacific typhoon season. Although the impact was felt throughout Southeast Asia, the Philippines was hardest hit by the Category 5-equivalent super typhoon as measured by Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

Although Niger has weathered 45 epidemics since 1900, the country more recently was hit with an outbreak of highly contagious cholera. In August of last year, Doctors Without Borders reported cholera has sickened more than 4,000 people in the country and killed 144.