natural disaster — earthquake, flood, etc.
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
A sudden and severe event caused by nature, like an earthquake, flood, hurricane, or wildfire, that can cause a lot of damage or harm to people and places.
Say it like a native
Textbook The region was struck by a catastrophic natural event.
Native The region was hit by a natural disaster.
'Catastrophic natural event' is news-formal; 'natural disaster' is the set phrase.
Pattern: natural disaster (noun phrase); a/an [natural disaster]
In use
- The city was badly damaged by a natural disaster last year when a huge earthquake struck.daily life
- In my country, we sometimes experience natural disasters like typhoons and landslides, which can disrupt daily life and cause serious problems for communities.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ A natural disaster happened the town.
✓ A natural disaster hit the town.
A disaster HITS/strikes a place — it doesn't 'happen' a place.
Common collocations
natural disaster— natural disaster, hit by, in the wake of, respond to
Don't confuse it
Do not confuse with 'accident' (which is usually caused by people) or 'emergency' (which can be any urgent situation).