![largest historic fire death toll belongs to aftermath of 1923 japan earthquake largest historic fire death toll belongs to aftermath of 1923 japan earthquake](https://utterbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/largest-historic-fire-death-toll-belongs-to-aftermath-of-1923-japan-earthquake-640x447.jpg)
Fires that raged in the days following the 1 September 1923 magnitude 7.9 Kant earthquake killed roughly 90% of the 105,000 people who perished in and around Tokyo, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history — comparable to the number of people killed in the World War II atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The story of the conflagration, not well-known outside of Japan, holds important lessons for earthquake scientists, emergency response teams and city planners, according to a new article.