Ten deadliest natural disasters since 1900

From the Houston Chronicle Science Blog

To put the tragedy in Haiti into context, I have attempted to make a list of the deadliest natural disasters since 1900, an arbitrary point but one that largely represents the beginning of the modern era.

Such lists are invariably difficult due to often sketchy or conflicting information. I
have chosen only to rely on the best sources, including the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I have excluded famines, droughts and disease outbreaks in favor of discrete events such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

Finally, I chose to exclude partially manmade disasters, such as the 1938 floods in China, which were self-inflicted by China's Nationalist Government in an attempt to halt the rapid advance of the Japanese forces.

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