A natural disaster is a catastrophe caused by the forces of nature. Earthquake, flood, hurricane, wildfire.
The phrase is under real scrutiny, since the damage from an event depends enormously on where people live and how buildings are made, and an earthquake that kills nobody in one country kills thousands in another. That has led many researchers to argue there is no such thing as a natural disaster, only a natural hazard meeting human vulnerability. The phrase remains standard in insurance and in news.
1nounnatural disasterA catastrophic event caused by natural forces.
“The fund covers damage from any natural disaster.”
Practised in A Man Called Ove
First appears in chapter 13 of A Man Called Ove.
Practise this word