What is the worst natural disaster you have experienced?

Like so many, the big quake of 2011. In my 7th floor apartment, I was looking for the concrete to start cracking and begging for my life as the doors slid open and closed on their own.

3/11. No hurricane, tyhoon, slide will ever top it... I hope.

By far and away, 3/11.

Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake 17 January 1995.

Ditto that, Kabukilover, My family and I lived in Wakayama City. It was an eye-opening experience. God rest the souls of those who did not survive and those who still may be unaccounted for. (The same for the 3/11 disaster).

Brexit & Donald Trump

2004 tsunami in Phuket and 3/11.

I felt the shock of the immensity of the 2011 disasters far more than I did the Hanshin earthquake, due to social media reporting and showing what was happening almost as it was happening. It was horrific to see.

Other than getting married? :) I experienced a very strong earthquake in Izu in the summer of 2006, it was 6- on the Japanese scale, that was very scary. The 3/11 one was not that strong in Tokyo, but the aftermath (wife walking 3 hours back home, empty supermarkets, radiation fears, etc) was far worse

Our house was destroyed in a tornado on a Sunday years ago. Family was all huddling in the basement surrounded by mattresses (9 of us) and survived with just scratches after the house implosion. Neighbors pulled us out a few hrs later. Govt emergency services were busy elsewhere. It was only an F3.

Since then, I've been careful to pick where we live to avoid most natural disasters - floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, snow/ice events. Even looked at tornado track history BEFORE purchasing our current home.

A few years ago, my city wasn't prepared for a little snow. Thousands of people were stuck on the roads overnight. I worked from home that day and didn't notice there was an issue until seeing the news the following day. ;)

I've been lucky to have not suffered any ill effects from any of these major quakes, aside from the shock and scare of the quakes themselves, to the point where I can't really say they were "bad" when I think of all the people that lost their lives, were injured, and lost friends and loved ones and/or property. Experienced extended power outage (nearly two weeks) and lost some things due to ice storms in Canada when I was a kid, as well as a large tornado once, but again, can't say I was in any immediate danger compared to what others have gone through.

I was here for 3/11 but on a personal level Hurricane Sandy was worse. I survived Hurricane Sandy TWICE. It devastated Jamaica first, knocking down trees, telephone poles and houses and killing people. It was responsible for keeping me in my hotel room for a day and a half. I flew to New York 3 days later and could actually see the storm heading up the coast from the plane, if memory serves me correctly. Then it hit the NYC area hard. Kept me in my room with no heat, hot water or electricity and very little food for 3 days. Luckily, I always bring my road bicycle lights with me on every trip so we at least had some way of seeing what we were doing inside the room . The road outside our hotel room was about a half a meter under water. What a way to spend your 20th wedding anniversary!

Thank you for that, Kurobune. I was in the midst of it. A life changing experience.

3/11 was the second earthquake I had ever experienced in my life (1st was the foreshock 2 days earlier). I struggle to imagine any natural disaster I'll experience that would come close to the sheer destruction and terror from that disaster

Brexit & Donald Trump

I'm with sense on this one. Those two have got to be the worst. And we still have the French elections to go. If Marine Lepen gets in it will be an unmitigated disaster.

3/11 and a F4 tornado.

If Marine Lepen gets in it will be an unmitigated disaster.

For whiners like you, yes.

Being in the midsts of raging "bush-fires" as they are called in Australia was pretty scary.

Helped fight a few more low key ones, but the brutes that ravaged southern aust in 1983 for a week or more killing hundreds, was an experience all too surreal. 40+c, 100km winds, fires leaping kms, red dust and black smoke reducing visibility to scratch. 7kms from my house a sudden abrupt wind change saved my town for sure. Unfortunately it probably devasted someone elses.

No need to begin to rank disasters - all are terrible - but fire still scares me.