1556 Quake China 830,000

1737 Quake Kolkata 300,000

1970 Cyclone Bangladesh 300,000

1976 Quake China 255,000

1138 Quake Syria 230,000

1920 Quake China 200,000

1893 Quake Iran 150,000

1923 Quake Japan 143,000*

1991 Cyclone Bangladesh 138,000

1948 Quake Turkmenistan 110,000

1908 Quake/Floods Italy 100,000

1815 Volcanic eruption Indonesia 92,000

1902 Eruption Martinique 40,000

1883 Eruption/Tsunami Indonesia 36,000

2003 Quake Bam, Iran 31,000

* Many thousands were killed in the Great Tokyo Fire caused by the earthquake. -Reuters