As of 2026-10-12, White Friday tops the list with 10,000 deaths.
- #1 White Friday — 10,000 deaths
Avalanche during First World War
White Friday was a series of avalanches on the Italian front of World War I. The most significant avalanche struck the Austro-Hungarian barracks on Mount Marmolada, killing 270 soldiers. Other avalanches on the same day would strike Italian and other Austro-Hungarian positions, killing hundreds. According to some reports, both sides deliberately fired shells into the weakened snowpacks in an attempt to bury the other side. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #2 1970 Huascarán debris avalanche — 6,000 deaths
natural disaster in Peru in 1970
On 31 May 1970, a debris avalanche and mudflow triggered by the Ancash earthquake destroyed the town of Yungay, Peru and 10 nearby villages, leaving up to 30,000 people dead. It is the deadliest avalanche or glacier-related disaster in history, surpassing the death toll from the previous deadliest avalanche disaster, the avalanches of White Friday on the Italian front of World War I and the third or fourth most deadly landslide-related disaster of the 20th century, after the Haiyuan landslides... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #3 2012 Siachen Glacier avalanche — 140 deaths
natural disaster in Pakistan
On 7 April 2012, an avalanche hit a Pakistan Army base in Gayari Sector, near the Siachen Glacier region, trapping 140 soldiers and civilian contractors under deep snow. The incident occurred at an altitude of about 4,000 meters and 300 km northeast of Skardu. It was the worst avalanche that the Pakistani military has experienced in the area. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #4 Kolka–Karmadon rock ice slide — 125 deaths
2002 landslide in North Ossetia–Alania
The Kolka–Karmadon rock-ice slide occurred on the northern slope of the Mount Kazbek massif in North Ossetia–Alania on the evening of 20 September 2002, following a nearly total collapse of the Kolka Glacier. It started on the north-northeast wall of Mount Jimara, 4,780 m (15,680 ft) above sea level, and seriously affected the valley of Genaldon and Karmadon. The resulting avalanche and mudflow killed more than 120 people, including a film crew of 27 people, among them Russian actor and... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #5 1987 Svaneti avalanches — 105 deaths
series of avalanches in Georgia
The 1987 Svaneti avalanches was a series of massive avalanches in the northwest Caucasus highlands of the then-Soviet republic of Georgia, which hit, in January 1987, the country's Svaneti province, namely the Mestia and Lentekhi districts. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #6 Wellington, Washington avalanche — 96 deaths
train wreck
Wellington was a small unincorporated railroad community in the northwest United States, on the Great Northern Railway in northeastern King County, Washington. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #7 Oyashirazu train accident — 90 deaths
train wreck
source Wikidata - #8 1956 Punchbowl avalanche — 79 deaths
avalanche in South Korea
The 1956 Punchbowl avalanche was a snow avalanche that occurred on 2 March 1956 on a mountain in Punchbowl, South Korea. The avalanche destroyed a base of the South Korean army. Over 100 soldiers were killed or missing. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #9 1910 Rogers Pass avalanche — 62 deaths
Railway disaster which took place on March 4, 1910 near Revelstoke, British Columbia
The 1910 Rogers Pass Avalanche killed 58 men clearing a railroad line just outside of Revelstoke in Rogers Pass through the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia on March 4, 1910. It is Canada's worst avalanche disaster. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #10 2014 Mount Dhaulagiri avalanches — 43 deaths
avalanches in Nepal
The 2014 Nepal snowstorm disaster occurred in central Nepal on 14 October 2014 and resulted in the deaths of at least 43 people of various nationalities, including at least 21 trekkers. Injuries and fatalities resulted from unusually severe snowstorms and avalanches on and around the mountains of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. The incident was said to be Nepal's worst trekking disaster. Read more on Wikipedia.
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