World's deadliest storms from tornadoes to cyclones, lightning and hail

The most deadly storms in recorded history have been identified by the World Meteorological Organisation for five different types.


The worst tropical cyclone happened in November 1970 when an estimated 300,000 people were killed in what is now Bangladesh.

The same country was hit by the deadliest tornado, which killed about 1,300 people in Manikganj District in April 1989.


Neighbouring India experienced the worst hailstorm when hail the size of “goose eggs, oranges and cricket balls” fell near Moradabad in April 1888, killing 246 people.

A single lightning strike killed 21 people in a hut in the Manyika tribaltrust’s lands in present-day Zimbabwe in December 1975.





WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that learning from the past  could help save lives.

“Extreme weather causes serious destruction and major loss of life,” he said.

“That is one of the reasons behind the WMO's efforts to improve early warnings of multiple hazards and impact-based forecasting, and to learn from historical disasters to prevent future ones.

“The human aspect inherent in extreme events should never be lost.”


With information from www.independent.co.uk