noun
1 bad event/situation
ADJECTIVE
▪ awful , big , catastrophic , devastating , enormous ( esp. AmE ), great , horrible , huge , large-scale ( esp. AmE ), major , massive , terrible , worst
▪
the biggest ~ in the history of the industry
▪ deadly ( AmE )
▪
the deadliest natural ~ in US history
▪ imminent , impending , looming
▪
Everyone had the feeling that ~ was imminent.
▪
It seemed that nothing could prevent the impending ~.
▪ possible , potential
▪ certain
▪
It would spell certain economic ~ for our local community.
▪ coming , future
▪
He called for a full investigation to help prevent future ~s.
▪ unforeseen
▪
the unforeseen ~ that has just been thrust upon us
▪ unprecedented
▪
This is an unprecedented natural ~.
▪ global , national
▪ natural
▪
earthquakes, floods and other natural ~s
▪ man-made
▪ air , ecological , environmental , flood , flooding , hurricane , military , mine ( esp. AmE ), mining , nuclear , rail , tsunami
▪
fears of a nuclear ~
▪ human , humanitarian
▪
the world's worst humanitarian ~
▪ economic , financial , social
▪
Their departure spells social ~ for the region.
▪ personal
▪ unfolding
▪
the unfolding storm ~ in the South
▪ costly
▪
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural ~ in history.
VERB + DISASTER
▪ bring , cause , create , lead to
▪
One person's mistakes can bring ~ to someone else.
▪
attempts to find out what caused the ~
▪ mean , spell
▪
Just one mistake can mean ~.
▪
The drought spelled economic ~ for the country.
▪ avert , avoid , prevent , save sb/sth from , stave off , ward off
▪
A major ~ was averted only just in time.
▪
What can be done to ward off environmental ~?
▪ anticipate , foresee , predict
▪
Independent analysts in the market predicted ~.
▪ court , invite
▪
It's courting ~ to go into the mountains without proper weatherproof clothing.
▪ be heading for
▪
his firm belief that the whole world was heading for ~
▪ face
▪
In the last match of the series England were facing ~.
▪ experience , suffer
▪
There are many who have suffered personal ~s but managed to rebuild their lives.
▪ handle
▪
No government could have handled a ~ of this magnitude effectively.
▪ overcome , survive
▪
It was a miracle any of the passengers or crew survived the ~.
▪ end in , result in
▪
The show ended in ~ when the tent collapsed.
DISASTER + VERB
▪ happen , occur , strike , take place
▪
Will we ever find out why the ~ occurred?
▪
Everything was going fine. Then, without warning, ~ struck.
▪
When ~ struck, no one was prepared.
▪ unfold
▪
Europe's worst environmental ~ is unfolding at this very moment.
▪ befall sb/sth , hit sb/sth , strike (sb/sth)
▪
the economic ~ that befell the country
▪ affect sb/sth
▪
communities affected by ~s
▪ loom , threaten
▪
We could all see that ~ loomed for the company.
▪ ensue
▪
His prediction was not heeded, and ~ ensued.
DISASTER + NOUN
▪ area , scene , site , zone
▪
Only rescue workers are allowed into the ~ area.
▪
The area has been declared a ~ zone.
▪ aid ( esp. AmE ), assistance ( esp. AmE ), relief , response
▪
counties eligible for federal ~ assistance
▪
The ~ relief operation will continue over the summer.
▪ recovery ( esp. AmE )
▪
The majority of enterprises aren't spending very much on ~ recovery at all.
▪ plan , planning (both esp. AmE )
▪
We have a ~ plan in place before every mission.
▪ preparation , preparedness (both esp. AmE )
▪
the planning and implementation of ~ preparedness
▪ management
▪
They had no real experience in ~ management.
▪ declaration ( AmE )
▪
This morning I signed a ~ declaration for the state.
▪ fund
▪
the governor's ~ fund
▪ victim
▪ scenario
▪
It become a financial ~ scenario.
▪ film ( esp. BrE ), flick ( informal ), movie ( esp. AmE )
▪
a Hollywood ~ movie
PREPOSITION
▪ in a/the ~
▪
In a ~ everyone needs to keep calm.
PHRASES
▪ a ~ waiting to happen
▪
Any one of these nuclear plants may be a ~ waiting to happen.
▪ in the aftermath of a ~
▪
In the aftermath of the ~ people were too shocked to give a clear picture of what had happened.
▪ a recipe for ~
▪
Letting her organize the party is a recipe for ~ (= sth that is likely to go badly wrong) .
▪ a walking ~ , a walking ~ area ( both figurative , esp. BrE )
▪
I am a walking ~ when it comes to paperwork.
▪ a victim of a ~
▪
an organization which provides help for the victims of the ~
2 a failure
ADJECTIVE
▪ absolute , complete , real , total , unmitigated , utter
▪
The play was a complete ~ from beginning to end.
▪ business , economic , electoral , fashion , financial , political , public relations (abbreviated to PR ) , social
▪
the greatest electoral ~ of the century
▪
The shirt was a definite fashion ~.
▪
Buying that house turned out to be a financial ~.
VERB + DISASTER
▪ prove , turn out to be
▪
High-rise buildings proved a social ~.
▪ become , turn into
▪
I can already foresee the night turning into a total ~.
PREPOSITION
▪ a ~ for sb/sth
▪
The festival ended up being a financial ~ for the promoters.