Weatherwatch: the huge loss of life from the great storm of 1703

More than 8,000 people died, the highest death toll from a recorded weather event in Great Britain

The list of the worst disasters that have befallen Great Britain is topped by the Black Death of 1347-50 when about 3.5 million died. The current Covid pandemic is placed sixth, behind the 1557 influenza outbreak, which claimed 200,000 lives.

The highest placed weather-related death toll is the great storm of 1703 when 8,000 were killed. Hurricane-force winds sank dozens of ships in the Channel and North Sea including a number of Royal Navy warships. Some vessels that did survive were driven hundreds of miles north and west before the sailors could regain control of their vessels.