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Interactive: Natural Disasters Around the World Since 1900

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Interactive: Natural Disasters Around the World Since 1900

While natural disasters are inevitable and commonplace within the context of human history, that doesn’t lessen our collective shock when they occur.

Here are just a few of the natural disasters that made headlines last year:

  • Haiti was rocked by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people Tens of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed.
  • Super typhoon, Rai, killed 375 people in the Philippines. The storm brought winds as high as 120 mph (193 kph)
  • Landslides in China’s Henan province kill more than 300 people
  • Historic flooding results in more than 200 fatalities in Germany and Belgium
  • Hurricane Ida battered the Gulf Coast, killing 91 people across nine U.S. states

And these are just some of the many events that rounded out a long list of disasters in 2021.

The interactive dashboard above was created by Our World in Data, using data came from EM-DAT, the International Disaster Database. The database aims to rationalize decision making for disaster preparedness and to provide an objective base for vulnerability assessment.

Total Deaths by Natural Disaster in the Last Decade (2010-2019)

In the past decade, approximately 60,000 people per year died from natural disasters. This represents 0.1% of total deaths worldwide.

The chart below breaks down the total deaths by type of natural disaster in the last decade.

Type of Natural DisasterTotal Deaths (2010-2019)
Earthquakes267,480
Extreme Temperatures74,244
Floods50,673
Storms27,632
Droughts20,120
Landslides10,109
Volcanic Activity1,363
Wildfires881
Mass Movement100
TOTAL452,602

Historically, droughts and floods were the most fatal natural disasters.

However, deaths from these events are relatively low now compared to earthquakes, which are by far the most deadly natural disaster in modern times. Over the past decade, earthquakes have killed 267,480 people worldwide, followed by extreme temperatures, which killed 74,244.

The Decline of Deaths from Natural Disasters

Is planet Earth really more dangerous than ever? Let’s take a look at what the data says:

natural disasters

The chart above shows a sharp decline in deaths from natural disasters over the last 100 years.

In the 1920s, the world averaged over 500,000 deaths from natural disasters per year. These were caused by several outlier events: for example, a Tokyo earthquake in 1923 killed over 146,000 people, and drought and famine killed 3 million people in China between 1928 and 1930.

In the 1930s, the number dropped below the 500,000 deaths per year average, but a number of events still put their thumb on the scale. In 1931, floods in China killed over 3.7 million people, and in 1935, an earthquake killed up to 60,000 people in Pakistan, and so on.

But luckily over time, the decadal average has dropped to fewer than 100,000 deaths per year. And if we consider the rate of population growth, then the decline over the past century has been even more dramatic.

Our awareness of natural disasters has increased dramatically along with global access to real-time information, and thankfully, these occurrences are less deadly than they once were.

How to Navigate this Interactive Visualization

how to use this viz

The dashboard above is packed with useful views and data. Some of the features to highlight are:

The Top Navigation
– Type of disaster: The options include: drought, earthquakes, floods, storms, volcanoes, extreme temperatures
– Impact: The impact of the natural disaster is measured in: deaths, injuries, affected, homeless, and more
– Timespan: The selection allows for average by decade and year
– Per capita: The impact is measured in per capita terms instead of total numbers

The Left Bar
– Filter the data by country and region
– Filter the data by type of disaster and related effects (e.g. deaths, economic impacts)

The Bottom Tabs
– Bar Chart: All data selected is displayed in a bar chart format
– Map: Data is shown by country in a heat map. Click “Play” at the bottom left to view data for different decades
– Table: The same data that is displayed in the visualization is shown in table format
– Sources: All the data sources and calculations are clearly displayed in this tab
– Download: This option allows downloading the image in PNG, SVG, and full data in CSV

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Economy

Mapped: How Much Each U.S. State Imports from the EU

Reciprocal tariffs mean European product prices will increase. Here’s how much each state imports from the EU.

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This map shows the share of U.S. imports from the EU by each state.

Mapped: How Much Each U.S. State Imports From the EU

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

As a bloc, the European Union is the largest source of American imports, valued at more than $600 billion in 2024.

However, not all of that trade is spread evenly between America’s 50 states.

This map shows the share of U.S. imports from the EU by each state. Figures are sourced from USA Trade, a database provided by the Census Bureau.

Who Imports the Most from the EU?

Nearly one-fifth of all U.S. imports were sourced from the EU in 2024. But that share varies widely by state (or territory).

StateCodeShare of Imports from EUImports from EU
Puerto RicoPR47.45%$14,827,939,382
IndianaIN46.21%$58,696,886,377
North CarolinaNC45.19%$43,190,299,106
Rhode IslandRI38.76%$4,811,129,055
New HampshireNH34.34%$4,210,174,126
MarylandMD33.38%$16,922,259,371
South CarolinaSC32.49%$22,516,150,106
KentuckyKY31.45%$34,508,188,293
PennsylvaniaPA29.92%$48,948,155,420
ArkansasAR29.26%$2,347,996,891
New JerseyNJ26.71%$60,043,736,742
WisconsinWI26.33%$11,291,219,102
ConnecticutCT25.08%$7,733,489,979
MassachusettsMA24.53%$14,854,690,324
VirginiaVA23.00%$12,617,378,403
KansasKS22.73%$3,815,663,236
FloridaFL22.65%$33,055,394,955
GeorgiaGA21.87%$38,709,201,060
AlabamaAL21.84%$9,572,045,837
IowaIA21.63%$3,234,515,753
OhioOH20.46%$20,713,680,097
DelawareDE19.46%$2,823,169,754
New YorkNY19.38%$56,253,075,401
TennesseeTN19.37%$29,680,640,856
West VirginiaWV18.69%$1,044,513,660
MississippiMS18.68%$5,063,183,179
NebraskaNE17.23%$1,797,362,857
MissouriMO16.81%$5,553,291,392
ColoradoCO15.50%$3,780,588,821
IllinoisIL14.73%$38,673,531,824
MinnesotaMN13.95%$6,657,656,253
South DakotaSD13.29%$263,551,579
ArizonaAZ12.90%$6,510,499,935
OregonOR12.39%$4,077,324,213
Dist of ColumbiaDC12.35%$311,130,823
MaineME10.85%$905,295,913
New MexicoNM10.62%$1,088,307,866
LouisianaLA10.25%$5,397,517,736
HawaiiHI10.24%$308,842,118
North DakotaND10.23%$465,275,359
NevadaNV9.97%$2,363,994,855
OklahomaOK9.75%$2,446,788,138
WyomingWY9.58%$202,765,852
TexasTX9.52%$48,350,514,495
MichiganMI8.02%$15,589,543,085
CaliforniaCA7.62%$46,827,583,908
UtahUT7.46%$1,994,437,354
VermontVT7.20%$436,562,742
WashingtonWA6.65%$5,317,907,948
AlaskaAK6.63%$281,189,813
IdahoID4.99%$525,479,461
MontanaMT2.80%$273,250,489

For example, Indiana, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico all sourced more than 40% of their 2024 imports from the EU.

This is an impact of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry which has a foothold in all three U.S. locations and Ireland.

In fact, Ireland is Indiana and North Carolina’s top import partner, bucking the Canada–Mexico dichotomy.

Reciprocal Tariffs and What They Mean for U.S.–EU Trade

President Trump recently announced reciprocal tariffs, intending to match American duties with what trade partners have for American products.

One of his biggest complaints has been the levies on American cars sold in the EU, which are more than what the U.S. charges on European cars in America.

Motor vehicles are a top three EU export to America, following pharmaceuticals, and crude oil. Once these tariffs go into effect, duties will increase on European cars sold in the U.S., thereby increasing prices.

However, the pharmaceutical sector could be hit the hardest. As CNBC reports, the U.S. imports necessities including: surgical and medical instruments, medical devices (like CRT machines), vaccines, hearing aids, and artificial joints.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Aside from reciprocal tariffs, President Trump has also announced blanket tariffs on foreign steel coming into the country. Check out creator Statista’s Countries Most Affected by Steel Tariffs for a breakdown.

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