The 1737 Calcutta Cyclone
In 1737 a disaster hit in Calcutta, India; a typhoon followed by massive flooding. Since there was not much of a technology at that time there had been an ambiguity regarding what might have caused the disaster.

Kaifeng, a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan province, People's Republic of China, located along the southern bank of the Yellow River, was flooded in 1642 by the Ming Dynasty army with water from the Yellow River to prevent the peasant rebel Li Zicheng from taking over. Roughly half of the 600,000 residents of Kaifeng were killed by the flood and the ensuing peripheral disasters such as famine and plague, making it one of the deadliest single acts of war in history (excluding systematic genocide) and the second greatest single loss of human life of its time.

Aleppo is located in northern Syria. The region, which sits on the boundary between the Arabian geologic plate and the African plate, is part of the Dead Sea Fault system. In the early 12th century this ancient Muslim city was home to tens of thousands of residents. On Oct. 10, 1138, a small shock shook the region, and some residents fled to surrounding towns. The main quake occurred the following day. As the city walls crumbled, rocks cascaded into the streets. Aleppo’s citadel collapsed, killing hundreds of residents.