natural disaster

noun

: a sudden and terrible event in nature (such as a hurricane, tornado, or flood) that usually results in serious damage and many deaths

The earthquake was one of the worst natural disasters of this century.

Examples of natural disaster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But with natural disasters fueled by climate change now regularly slamming the U.S. — this year has already seen 24 weather events that each caused at least $1 billion in damage — the agencies have taken on a greater role. —Denise Chow, NBC News, 3 Nov. 2024

But, Mastrangelo said, his county is an outlier—many more communities are worryingly unprepared, even in areas that are clearly at high risk of a natural disaster triggering a chemical one. —Hana Kiros, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024

Experts say the most recent natural disaster in the region with this level of impact would be the 2021 floods in Belgium and Germany that claimed the lives of 230 people. —Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 31 Oct. 2024

The most dramatic, and least likely, scenario involves a large-scale natural disaster or a violent attack on November 5th. —Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2024