This is a list of natural disasters in the United Kingdom.
+Key to background colours Geological event Cold weather event Hot weather event High winds event Wet weather event Famine Sickness epidemic
YearDisaster event Notes; disaster type, people killed, region affected, etc.75,000–70,000 BP Prolonged volcanic winter Long lasting volcanic winters following the Toba catastrophe have been hypothesised to have killed every human not living in Africa at the time. 6100 BC Tsunami Caused by the Storegga Slide, struck east Scotland with wave after undersea landslip off Norway. 535–536 Severe cooling The most severe cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years; likely caused crop failures and freezing for the Anglo-Saxons. 10th century Regular heatwaves Extended droughts with regularity: also through the period summers lasted half a year and were often warm or very warm – some notably extreme summers. 1014FloodsAnglo-Saxon Chronicle: "And in this year on St Michael's Eve [28 September], that great sea-flood came widely throughout this country, and ran further inland than it ever did before, and drowned many settlements and a countless number of human beings." 1091 London tornado Two deaths, the early London Bridge, 600 houses, many churches (inc. St Mary-le-Bow) demolished. 1235 Famine England; 20,000 die in London alone. 1252–53 Both dry years and excessive heat Considered by some (e.g. Brooks) as the driest pair of consecutive years known in the record. The summer (and possibly the spring in London/south) of 1252 was outstandingly dry/hot, with the ensuing drought ruining crops and many people died from the excessive heat. Spring/summer 1253 was also noted as dry/hot London/south. 1287 St. Lucia's flood Not known by that name, the flood killed hundreds in England. This flood, along with the South England flood of February 1287, contributed to the decline of Dunwich as a major port. 1315–17 Great Famine Throughout Europe. 1324 10 years of hot summers Drought in summer (London/south). Possibly the start of 10 or so years of warm, often dry summers. 1348–1350s Black Death European pandemic of bubonic plague. The initial outbreak killed around 50% of the population. 1360s Black Death A later outbreak killed a further 20% of the population. 1485–1551 Sweating sickness Sporadic outbreaks kill many thousands. 1540–41 Great heat and drought Dry, in 1538–39. In 1540–41, the River Thames was so low that seawater extended above London Bridge. Reports at the time suggest that there were many deaths due to the 'ague', and 1540 is described in contemporary chronicles as the 'Big Sun Year'. 1580 Dover Straits earthquake Estimated to have been 5.3–5.9 ML. Two deaths in England. 1607 Bristol Channel floods 30 January 1607 (possible tsunami). Flooding in the Bristol Channel hit Carmarthenshire, Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Devon, and Somerset. 1623–24 Famine Said to be the last peace-time famine in England. 1638 The Great Thunderstorm Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Devon, four killed and 60 injured. 1665 Great Plague of London Bubonic plague killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. 1665 Derby plague The bubonic plague spread north, but was stalled by the famous quarantine of Eyam. 1665–66 Long drought followed by a hot summer Every month from November 1665 to September 1666 was dry. The climatological summer (June, July and August) of 1666 was amongst the top 10 or so of warm summers in the Central English Temperatures (CET) series (began 1659). CET also suggests that July 1666 had a mean value of , and August was . The heat and long drought added to a heightened risk of fire in populated areas. Lack of rain and hot temperatures helped spark the Great Fire of London (not itself classified as a natural disaster). As a result, this year saw an end to the Great Plague of London due to extreme heat and fire. 1690s Famine Known as the seven ill years, it occurred throughout Scotland, killing 15% of the population.1697 Hertfordshire hailstorm The most severe hailstorm ever documented in the UK, travelling 25 km from Hitchin (Hertfordshire) to Potton (Bedfordshire). At least one person was killed. Hailstones as large as bowling balls caused severe damage to homes. 1703 Great Storm Up to 15,000 deaths, ships lost, mass damage to buildings and trees. 16th–18th centuries Little Ice Age Long-lasting period of lower-than-normal average temperatures throughout Europe. 1709 Great Frost Extremely cold winter, temperatures as low as on 5 January. 1729 Tornado Bexhill-on-Sea struck by a waterspout that came ashore. 1755 Tsunami Following the Lisbon earthquake, Cornwall was struck by a wave. 1770 Flooding and storms In August throughout southern England. A flood was thought to have occurred in Lynmouth, Devon in 1769 and the date may have transposed to 1796. 1783 "Laki haze" Sulphurous gas from an eruption in Iceland suffocates more than 10,000 in Britain, followed by about 8,000 deaths in winter. 1816 Year Without a Summer Caused by the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora. Crops devastated, unknown thousands die. 1831–50 Cholera pandemic Part of the 1829–1851 cholera pandemic: beginning in London, 55,000 die in outbreaks across England and Wales. 1836 Lewes avalanche Lewes, the only major avalanche recorded in England. 1840s Highland Potato Famine Starvation events caused by potato blight. Very few deaths, but 200,000 were said to have emigrated. 1848 Moray Firth fishing disaster 100 fishermen and 124 boats lost at sea during a storm in Scotland. 1852 Holmfirth Flood Bilberry Reservoir embankment collapses, causing 81 deaths and a large amount of damage to property. 1859 Royal Charter StormNamed for the ship Royal Charter, the storm, which lasted for two days, sank 133 ships, killing 800. 1864 Great Sheffield Flood A flood that devastated parts of Sheffield on 11 March 1864, when a new reservoir was being filled for the first time. It killed at least 240 people. 1871 Great Gale Occurring in the North Sea on 10 February 1871, it killed at least 50 people.1879 Tay Bridge disaster A European windstorm on 28 December 1879 caused the Tay Rail Bridge to collapse, killing between 60 and 75 people. 1881 Eyemouth disaster 189 fishermen died during a storm in Scotland. 1881 Blizzard of January 1881 Around 100 died in one of the most severe blizzards ever to hit the southern parts of the United Kingdom. 1884 Colchester earthquake Several people killed and 1,200 buildings destroyed in Essex.1894–95 Severe winter Conditions were such that many people died of hypothermia or respiratory conditions.1911 UK heatwave Heatwave lasted from early July to mid-September. Newspapers ran deaths by heat columns.1913 UK tornado outbreak Series on tornados on 27 October, particularly in England and Wales. This day was the only known time in British history where two tornados exceeded F3 on the Fujita scale. One tornado in Edwardsville, Merthyr Tydfil, resulted in hundreds of injuries and six deaths and is the deadliest-known tornado to occur in the UK. The damage caused was around £100,000. 1918–19 Flu pandemic Worldwide influenza pandemic nicknamed the Spanish flu. 1920 Louth flood A severe flash flooding event in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth which caused 23 fatalities in 20 minutes. 1928 Thames flood A disastrous flood of the River Thames in London. 14 drowned and thousands were made homeless. 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake At 6.1 on the Richter Scale, it was the largest earthquake in British history, but caused only minor damage as it was offshore. 1946–47 Severe winter Right after WWII, blizzards blocked roads and cause blackouts, resulting in industrial stagnation. It was followed by heavy flooding in March, causing £250–375 million of damage. 1952 Lynmouth Flood 34 people were killed, with a further 420 made homeless. Over 100 buildings were destroyed. 1953 North Sea flood 307 were killed in the United Kingdom, in the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. 1955 UK heatwave Heatwave and drought throughout the country. 1962 Great Sheffield Gale High winds affected much of the United Kingdom, causing particular devastation in Sheffield, killing nine people. 1962–63 Severe winter Coldest winter for hundreds of years, temperatures as low as . 1968 July 1968 England and Wales dust fall storms Dust from the Sahara desert causes extremely heavy rain and hail, causing widespread damage across Wales and western and northern England. 1968 Great Flood Flooding causes extensive damage to Southern England. 1968 Scotland Hurricane Hurricane-force winds cause 20 deaths in the Central Belt of Scotland. In Glasgow alone, over 300 houses were destroyed and 70,000 homes were damaged. Electrical power also failed in Glasgow, leaving the whole city in darkness. In total, the storm felled 8,000 hectares of forest across Scotland (1.6 million cubic metres of timber). The storm, which affected Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, received little attention from the BBC or the national press. 1976 Gale of January 1976 The gale of 2–5 January resulted in severe wind damage across western and central Europe and coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts. At the time, this was the most severe storm over the British Isles. 1974–1976 Two-year drought and heatwaves, including the 1976 British Isles heatwave 1974–1975 was the mildest winter in England and Wales since 1869. However, during the first few days of June 1975, in and around London snow and sleet occurred. During the next week maximum temperatures of were recorded each day across the country. Later, August 1975 was nationally the second-hottest on record in the nationwide series dating back to 1884, with an extended period starting from late July of temperatures regularly reaching over . August 8th saw temperatures as high as . The autumn of 1975 was notably dry. The summer of 1976 experienced five days of temperatures exceeding somewhere in the UK. Between 23 June to 7 July, temperatures in London and other parts of Southern England reached above for 15 consecutive days. The weather was settled and temperatures were above average, with many short and long periods of above heat, between mid June to mid September. In 1976, the country suffered forest fires, grass fires and water shortages. Summer 1976 was followed by an extremely unsettled autumn. 1978 North Sea storm surge A storm surge which occurred over 11–12 January caused extensive coastal flooding and considerable damage on the east coast of England between the Humber and Kent. Locally severe flooding occurred in Lincolnshire, The Wash, north Norfolk and Kent. Improvements in flood protection following the devastating flood of 1953 meant that the catastrophic losses seen during that storm were not repeated. The storm caused severe damage to many piers along the east coast of England. 1981 UK tornado outbreak The 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak is regarded as the largest tornado outbreak in European history. 104 confirmed tornadoes touched down across Wales and central, northern and eastern England. 8 injuries were recorded but there were no casualties.1981-nowAIDS outbreak The first case of AIDS in the United Kingdom was reported in December 1981. The patient was a 49-year-old gay man who regularly visited Florida and was referred to a London hospital with opportunistic infections. The first UK death from AIDS was in London in July 1982, and was attributed to Terry Higgins, who was one of the first people in the UK to die of an AIDS-related illness. Millions of people have died from this plague since 1981. 1987 Great Storm After Michael Fish famously forecast "very windy" weather mainly over France, an unusually strong storm occurred in October 1987, with wind speeds widely over along England's southern coastline, and which killed 18 people in England. The great storm caused substantial damage over much of Southern England, downing an estimated 15 million trees (including six