List of disasters in New Zealand by death toll
This is a list of New Zealand disasters by death toll, listing major disasters which occurred in New Zealand and its territories or involved a significant number of New Zealand citizens, in a specific incident, where the loss of life was 10 or more.
100 or more deaths
50 to 99 deaths
| Deaths | Name or description | Type | Date | Location | Notes |
| Fiery Star | shipwreck | 11 May 1865 | 240 km off the Chatham Islands | ||
| SS Penguin | shipwreck | 12 Feb 1909 | off Cape Terawhiti | ||
| General Grant | shipwreck | Auckland Island | |||
| Brunner Mine disaster | mine explosion | 26 Mar 1896 | Brunner | ||
| 2nd Little Waihi Landslide | landslide | 7 May 1846 | Waihi Village | Tribal leader Mananui Te Heuheu Tukino II and most of his family were killed in the landslide | |
| shipwreck | 10 Apr 1968 | Barrett Reef, Wellington Harbour | |||
| City of Dunedin | shipwreck | 20 May 1865 | off Cape Terawhiti | There are estimates of between 250 and 600 passengers perishing, but these reports were 20 or more years later | |
| + | Blizzard and Flood of 1863 | floods and blizzards | – | Central Otago goldfields | The actual death toll was probably higher because of the transient nature of the miners and the ruggedness of the country |
| Christchurch mosque shootings | terrorist attack | 15 March 2019 | Christchurch, New Zealand |
10 to 49 deaths
| Deaths | Name or description | Type | Date | Location | Notes |
| Featherston Prisoner of war camp riot | riot | 25 Feb 1943 | Featherston, New Zealand | ||
| SS Elingamite | shipwreck | 9 Nov 1902 | off West Island in the Three Kings Islands | ||
| Ralph's Mine | mine explosion | 12 Sep 1914 | Huntly | methane and coal dust explosion | |
| Ballantyne's store disaster | fire | 18 Nov 1947 | Christchurch | ||
| + | Great storm of 1868, flash floods and 12 shipwrecks | storm | 3 Feb 1868 | Predominantly eastern areas of New Zealand | Death toll likely understated as impact on many Maori unknown |
| Seacliff Lunatic Asylum | fire | 8 Dec 1942 | Seacliff | ||
| SS Taiaroa | shipwreck | 11 Apr 1886 | Clarence River mouth | ||
| Kaitangata Mine disaster | mine explosion | 21 Feb 1879 | Kaitangata | explosion of fire-damp | |
| Dunedin | shipwreck | between Oamaru and London | |||
| Marlborough | shipwreck | between Lyttelton and London | |||
| Pike River Mine disaster | mine explosion | 19 November 2010 | northwest of Greymouth | large methane explosion | |
| MV Kaitawa | shipwreck | 23 May 1966 | near Pandora Bank, Cape Reinga | ||
| Barque Maria | shipwreck | Cape Terawhiti | |||
| + | Storm of 1897 | floods and shipwreck | 16 Apr 1897 | North Island | flooding at Clive, boating accidents, and the wreck of the Zuleika near Cape Palliser. 25 confirmed deaths and 6 unconfirmed |
| MV Joyita | ghost ship | En route from Apia, Samoa to Tokelau | |||
| Assaye | shipwreck | between London and Wellington; wreckage washed up at the Chatham Islands 7 months after the ship left London | |||
| New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 | air accident | 3 Jul 1963 | Kaimai Ranges | ||
| launch Ranui | shipwreck | 30 Dec 1950 | off Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty | ||
| Hyde railway disaster | rail accident | 4 Jun 1943 | near Hyde | ||
| Kopuawhara flash flood of 1938 | flood | 19 Feb 1938 | Destroyed the Kopuawhara railway workers camp | ||
| brigantine Sophia Pate | shipwreck | Kaipara Harbour | |||
| 2019 Whakaari/White Island eruption | volcanic eruption | 9 Dec 2019 | Whakaari/White Island | ||
| schooner St. Vincent | shipwreck | 14 Feb 1869 | Palliser Bay | ||
| Strongman Mine | mine explosion | 19 Jan 1967 | near Greymouth | ||
| Canoe on Lake Rotorua | boating accident | 16 Apr 1870 | near Mokoia Island on Lake Rotorua | ||
| Canoe on Motu River | boating accident | 04 Aug 1900 | Motu River – 25 miles from Opotiki | There were 16 children and 2 adults in the six person canoe | |
| Clyde | shipwreck | 6 Nov 1884 | Horseshoe Bay, near Akaroa, Banks Peninsula | ||
| Lastingham | shipwreck | 1 Sep 1884 | Cape Jackson, Cook Strait | ||
| ketch Enterprise and steamer Tauranga | shipwreck | 23 Jul 1870 | between Cape Rodney and Sail Rock, Hauraki Gulf | Those lost — fourteen crew and four passengers — all came from the Tauranga. The crew of the Enterprise survived in the ship's longboat. | |
| 1929 Murchison earthquake | earthquake | 17 Jun 1929 | Murchison | ||
| Ongarue railway disaster | rail accident | 6 Jul 1923 | Ongarue | ||
| Capitaine Bougainville | shipwreck | 3 Sep 1975 | Whananaki | ||
| 1943 Liberator crash at Whenuapai | air accident | 2 Aug 1943 | Whenuapai | Those killed were mainly Japanese civilians who were being repatriated in a prisoner exchange. | |
| Brynderwyns bus accident | road accident | 7 Feb 1963 | Brynderwyn Hills | ||
| MV Holmglen | shipwreck | 24 Nov 1959 | near Timaru | ||
| Lockheed Lodestar airliner crash | air accident | 18 Mar 1949 | near Waikanae | ||
| Derry Castle | shipwreck | 20 Mar 1887 | Enderby Island, Auckland Islands | ||
| Cave Creek disaster | structural failure | 28 Apr 1995 | Paparoa National Park | ||
| Aramoana massacre | spree killing | 13 Nov 1990 | Aramoana, near Dunedin | ||
| Two Hudson bombers lost off the New Zealand coast | air accident | 21 Aug 1944 | en route from Fiji | No. 4 Squadron RNZAF | |
| floods | 17 Jan 1858 | Hutt Valley | |||
| NAC Electra air crash | air accident | 23 Oct 1948 | on Mount Ruapehu | ||
| SS Ventnor | shipwreck | 28 Oct 1902 | off Omapere, Hokianga | ||
| Tasmania | shipwreck | Mahia Peninsula | |||
| barque Dundonald | shipwreck | 7 Mar 1907 | Disappointment Island, Auckland Islands | ||
| Barque Lizzie Bell | shipwreck | 24 Jul 1901 | Waimate, Taranaki | ||
| Cafe Chantant fire, The Octagon, Dunedin | fire | 8 Sep 1879 | Dunedin | ||
| ferry Pride of the Yarra and paddle steamer Favourite | collision | 6 Jul 1863 | Otago Harbour | ||
| L'Alcmène | shipwreck | 3 Jun 1851 | Baylys Beach, Kaipara | A French navy corvette | |
| Brigantine Rio Loge | shipwreck | Last seen in Cook Strait on 14 January, en route from Kaipara to Dunedin | May have caused the wreck of the Penguin a month later. | ||
| Cyclone of 1936 | storm | 1 Feb 1936 | North Island and upper South Island | A tropical cyclone that originated near the Solomon Islands | |
| 2012 Carterton hot air balloon crash | air accident | 07 Jan 2012 | near Carterton | ||
| Glen Afton No. 1 mine | Coal mine fire | 24 Sep 1939 | Huntly | 11 miners, including the mine manager, died from carbon monoxide asphyxia | |
| B17 bomber crash | air accident | 12 Jun 1942 | RNZAF Base Auckland at Whenuapai | ||
| Aspiring Air Britten-Norman Islander, collided with terrain | air crash | 8 Aug 1989 | Upper Dart Valley | ||
| Brig Australia | shipwreck | 23 May 1873 | off Cape Campbell | ||
| Husky and Argo lost to storm in yacht race | shipwrecks | 21 Jan 1951 | between Wellington and Christchurch | ||
| White Island sulphur mine | lahar following volcano crater wall collapse | 10 Sep 1914 | Whakaari/White Island | No bodies found. | |
| Shamrock sailing boat | shipwreck | Queen Charlotte Sound | Capsized and sank. Exact location unknown. |
NOTE: The exact number of deaths in some early New Zealand shipwrecks is not fully recorded. There may be several shipwrecks not listed here which claimed ten or more lives.