List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll

The following list of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland is a list of major disasters (excluding acts of war) which relate to the United Kingdom, Ireland or the Isle of Man, or to the states that preceded them, or that involved their citizens, in a definable incident or accident such as a shipwreck, where the loss of life was forty or more.

Over 1,000 fatalities DeathsItalics indicate an estimated figure Event Year Notes 3,500,000 Black Death pandemic 1347–1350 See discussion of death toll estimates in death toll section 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 Great Irish Famine 1845–1849 See discussion of death toll estimates in death toll section 300,000 to 480,000 Sir William Wilde, "Table of Cosmical Phenomena", pp. 124–32; Dickson, "The other great famine", in Cathal Póirtéir, (ed.) The Great Irish Famine (1955), Mercier Press, pp. 53–55; and David Dickson, "The gap in famines: a useful myth?", in E. Margaret Crawford (ed.), Famine: the Irish experience, Edinburgh: John Donald, 1989, pp. 97–98 Great Irish Famine of 1740–41 1740–1741 Some estimates indicate a death toll as high as 500,000 from starvation and disease. 250,000 1918 influenza pandemic 1918 (September–November) An estimated 200,000 people died in England and Wales."British Influenza Epidemic of 1918–19" in Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: From Ancient Times to the Present (3rd ed. 2008: ed. George Childs Kohn), Infobase, p. 46. Although the official number of deaths in Scotland due to the pandemic is 17,575, a modern estimate of total pandemic mortality in Scotland is between 27,641 and 33,771. About 20,000 died in Ireland.Michael B. A. Oldstone, Viruses, Plagues, and History, Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 174. 241,000+ COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland2020–2023The COVID-19 pandemic caused a worldwide death toll of over 7.1 million people. 200,000+ 1557 influenza pandemic 1557–1561 From 1557 to 1559 the population contracted by 2%. 150,000+ Seven ill years 1695–1699 The last major famine to occur in Scotland. Marked by large-scale migration, especially to Ireland. 125,000 1889–1890 flu pandemic 1889–1893 Influenza pandemic originating from St Petersburg, Russia 100,000+ Sweating sickness 1485 ff. Mysterious disease which killed tens of thousands of people in each of five outbreaks before disappearing. 80,000 Hong Kong flu pandemic 1968–1970 Influenza pandemic. Figure for UK deaths only. 78,319+ Third cholera pandemic 1848–1854 First cases in Edinburgh in October 1848. Major outbreaks across Britain, including the famous 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak, where John Snow was able to identify contaminated water as being the source of the disease. Estimate is for deaths in Great Britain only. 75,000+ Great Plague of London 1665–1666 The last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England 65,000 Year Without a Summer 1816 Famine and typhoid fever in IrelandBill Bryson; A Short History..., p. 372, and food riots in England and France, caused by the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora affecting the weather 60,000 1847–48 influenza pandemic 1847–1848 Worldwide influenza outbreak 52,627 1870–1875 Europe smallpox epidemic 1870–1875 Mortality figure for England and Scotland only. The epidemic started during the Franco-Prussian War, and spread throughout Europe. 41,644+ 1837–1840 smallpox epidemic 1837–1840 Especially severe smallpox epidemic 40,000 1603 London plague epidemic 1603 Bubonic plague epidemic in LondonBell, Walter George (1951). Belinda Hollyer (ed.). The great Plague in London (folio society ed.). Folio society by arrangement with Random House. pp. 3–5 40,000 1775–76 England Influenza outbreak 1775–1776 Unusually deadly influenza epidemic 35,417 1625 London plague epidemic 1625 Bubonic plague epidemic in London 33,000 Asian flu pandemic 1957–1958 Influenza pandemic which originated in Guizhou, China 32,854 Second cholera pandemic 1831–1833 The disease arrived in Britain from Asia in October 1831. Major outbreaks in various cities. Cases tailed off after 1833. 23,000 "Laki haze" 1783–1784 (June–February) Eruption of a volcano in Iceland sent a huge toxic gas cloud across Britain, killing thousands. 20,100+ 1563 London plague 1563–1564 Bubonic plague epidemic in London 20,000 1235 famine 1235 London badly affected; many resorted to eating tree bark for survival. 19,900+ 1592–93 London plague 1592–1593 Bubonic plague epidemic in London 17,000+ 1257 Samalas eruption 1258 Crop failures and famines caused by the 1257 Samalas eruption in Indonesia affecting the weather; around 15,000 died in London. 15,785 to 16,447 HIV/AIDS pandemic 1979–present Approximately 12,105 had died in the UK by 1996. Between 1997 and 2012, 2,450 died of AIDS-related illness in England and Wales. Between 2013 and 2018, approximately 832–1,494 had died because of HIV/AIDS in the UK. About 398 died in Ireland by 2005. 15,548+ Fourth cholera pandemic 1865–1873 Major outbreaks in 1865 and 1866. Smaller outbreaks in Scotland in 1873. 12,000 Storegga Slide Massive submarine landslides off the coast of Norway caused a huge tsunami to hit the eastern coast of Britain, killing 12,000 prehistoric Britons. This was one quarter of the entire population at the time. 8,000 Great Storm of 1703 1703 (26 November) Atlantic hurricane across southern England and the English Channel; deaths chiefly at sea, including 1083 in naval ships wrecked on Goodwin Sands 7,600 Winter of 1894–95 1894–1895 (December–February) An eight-week period of severe cold weather with a weekly death rate of around 950"The Frost Of 1895", British Medical Journal. Vol. 1, No. 1790 (20 April 1895), p. 886. 6,500+ 1729 Influenza epidemic 1729 (September–December) Influenza outbreak with very high mortality rates 5,000+ 1836–37 influenza pandemic 1836–1837 Influenza outbreak with high mortality rates 5,000+ Great Famine (14th century) 1315–1317 Great Smog of London 1952 (December) 4,000 to 7,000HMT Lancastria1940 (17 June)Largest single-ship loss of life in British maritime history 4,000 1911 United Kingdom heat wave 1911 (July–September) Newspapers ran "deaths from heat" columns. 3,500+ 1782 Central Atlantic hurricane 1782 (1617 September) Loss of , ; storeships Dutton and British Queen; captured French prize ships , , Hector, and Caton; plus other merchantmen 3,200+ The encephalitis lethargica pandemic of 1915–1926 1917–1924 Some victims were left in a statue-like condition, and many survivors never returned to their pre-existing "aliveness"; it is thought that the Spanish flu pandemic, which coincided with the encephalitis pandemic, contributed to the severity of the disease. 3,000+ Tainted blood scandal 1970s–1980s (deaths up to decades later) Importing and use of blood products known to be contaminated with HIV, Hepatitis B, C & E. People continue to die up to the present time. 3,000 1212 Great Fire of London 1212 (10 July) Source for fatalities is the Guinness Book of Records but historical evidence unclear 3,000 1976 British Isles heat wave 1976 (23 June – 27 August) At the time, the hottest summer in central England in 250 years 2,985 2022 European heatwaves 2022 saw five distinct extreme heat periods between 16 June and 25 August The summer of 2022 saw the highest ever recorded temperature in England at 40.3C. 2,323 2006 European heatwave 2006 (26 June – 30 July) 2,234 Difference between the number of deaths in that period and the average number in other years. 2003 European heat wave 2003 (4–13 August) 2,200 1880 London coal smog 1880 2,000+ 1540 European drought; 1540 also known as the 'Big Sun Year' 1540–1541 Heat and drought caused freshwater from the Thames to shrink to such an unprecedented extent that seawater flowed on the tide past London Bridge, polluting the water supply. The resulting dysentery and cholera killed "thousands". 2,000 Bristol Channel floods 1607 (30 January)New style dating. 1,900+ Christmas Eve storm 1811 (24 December) Wrecks , and off Thorsminde, Jutland; and and the transport off Texel, Netherlands 1,550+ Scilly naval disaster 1707 (22 October) HMS Association, , and 1,500+ Peasants' Revolt 1381 (30 May – November) Peasants protested against poll taxes, serfdom and the socio-economic tensions generated by the Black Death pandemic. Some marched on London demanding reform, and after initial successes were brutally suppressed. 1,496 1912 (15 April) Estimates vary, but most official sources and historians put the death toll around 1500, most commonly 1496. 1,200 Strait of Gibraltar storm 1694 (1 March) Wrecks and accompanying ships 1,198 1915 (7 May) Struck by torpedo on starboard side. Sank in the Celtic Sea within 18 minutes. 1,012 1914 (29 May) Canadian Pacific ship sank in Gulf of St. Lawrence, registered in UK with crew almost entirely from Merseyside 1,000+ 1692 storm off Winterton Ness 1692 200 colliers wrecked off the Norfolk coast 1,000 1956 London smog 1956 (December) 1,000 1867 San Narciso hurricane 1867 (29 October) Up to 50 UK vessels driven ashore on Saint Thomas, Danish West Indies, including and RMS Wye (180 deaths between these)Marshall, Logan (1912). Sinking of the Titanic and Great Disasters of the Sea. 1,000 Great Hurricane of 1780 in the Caribbean 1780 (10 October) Royal Navy ships lost included , , , , and

200–999 fatalities