national disaster

American  

[nash-uhn-uhl-di-zas-ter] / ˈnæʃ ən əl dɪˈzæs tər /

noun

national disasters plural

1. a disaster, especially a natural disaster, such as a flood, hurricane, or earthquake, that affects a large portion of a nation or requires the resources and powers of a national government to address it.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• national disasters
  plural

Example Sentences

Indonesia's national disaster agency, meanwhile, instructed officials in the North Sulawesi capital, Manado, northern Gorontalo province and the Sangihe islands "to immediately direct their residents to evacuate in an orderly manner to higher ground".

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

President Cyril Ramaphosa's designation of the outbreak as a national disaster allows the government to release extra funds and speed up the acquisition of vaccines from abroad.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

Prabowo has also so far ignored calls to declare it a national disaster, which would unlock emergency funds and streamline relief efforts.

From BBC • Dec. 25, 2025

The death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Indonesia has risen to 593, according to a tally published Monday by the national disaster agency.

From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025

Sometimes whole regiments entrained under the care of fatherly French railway officials, curiously liable to hysteria on ordinary excursion days, but now as calm as Egyptian Pyramids in the face of national disaster.

From The Dark Tower by Soper, J. H. Gardner