# Tsunami in Indonesia: Where does it rank in history?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 29, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034 "2004-12-29T01:18:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/41 "2004-12-31T15:40:21Z")

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> [@enipla](#):
>
> There was an earthquake in 1556 in China that killed 800,000. Or so Iv’e heard 😉 .
> 
> Why so many dead? In 1556? Ummm… Weren’t most structures one story shacks?

[Cite.](http://www.drgeorgepc.com/EarthquakesChina.html)

It’s typical even today for dwellings in 3rd world countries to be made of sod, mud or rock. This is heavy material that is not held together by much; it also doesn’t take much to bring it down. If a mud hut collapses on you, you’re probably not going to survive it. In the case of stick-built houses, fire is a major concern.

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**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\
**Post date:** [January 1, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/42 "2005-01-01T03:41:10Z")

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> [@Sparrow](#):
>
> Yes, I do, but not very much, to my shame. It was in the 1970s I think, a hurricane in the Bay of Bengal flooded a large part of low-lying Bangladesh. I think about half a million died.

I see an earlier post of mine got swallowed up into the ether.

Anyway, the AP put out a graphic from data provided by the US Geological Survey, and they ranked that Bangladeshi flooding as the worst Natural Disaster in terms of loss of life, with the dead numbering 300,000.

The list had flooding, landslides, and earthquakes only. I’d link to it, but it was a yahoo graphic and they keep shifting their photos around so numbered links are outdated every few minutes.

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