Wars, Plagues, Calamities and Deaths A Perspective - By Jerry Black

Jennifer Hester |

It’s been said the coronavirus malaise we presently experience is a war. As you review this please don’t mistake me for being insensitive about whatever our current deaths have been or may yet occur. However, the present noise of today can mislead us in perspective. In previous wars or calamities, the masses were mobilized. Today businesses are being closed and industries shut down. Let’s take a historical look.


1976 Chinese City of Tangshan – 7.8 earthquake – 255,000 deaths and 700,000 injured

2010 Haiti – Earthquake and Tsunami – 160,000-316,000 deaths

1930 Dust Bowl – 6500 deaths – 2,000,000 lost their homes – US Pop at the time was 123 million

WW II – 1940’s – 70-85 million deaths – 405,000 US soldiers died – world pop was 2.3 Billion

Holocaust deaths – 6 million

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami – 230,000 – 280,000 deaths and another 100,000 missing

WW I – 20 million deaths and 21 million wounded

China under Mao ZeDong – 20-46 million died between 1958-62

Idi Amin killed - 80,000-300,000

Civil War deaths – 620,000 soldiers

Vietnam – 57,939 deaths and 200,000-250,000 S. Vietnamese died

Potato Famine – 1 million died