Globally, two thirds of deaths arising from natural hazards in recent decades were caused by geological hazards. But how and why do natural hazards turn into disasters? In this talk I will explore this question through the lens of one particularly troublesome hazard: earthquakes. We will focus on general themes but make specific references to the 2023 Turkiye earthquake disaster. The death toll for a given earthquake magnitude will depend not only on geographic location, but also the social vulnerability of communities and the quality of the building stock. But these are dynamic features of evolving societies, which means earthquake risk varies in time and space. This talk will compare and contrast global trends in earthquake fatalities and aim to extract common issues that exacerbate the impact of natural hazards, and consider where and why these turn into disasters.