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

See Examples For:

national disaster

They want the government to declare the haze a national disaster, which would allow for recovery measures such as the coverage of healthcare costs.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

She urged the Indonesian government to declare the fires a national disaster, "so that all resources are mobilised... to build health access for residents, rescue wildlife and so on".

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

The number of people missing in Nepal has risen to more than 4,200, the national disaster agency said on Monday.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

President Lee Jae Myung has ordered public agencies to mobilise all available resources to deal with the extreme heat, which he has called a "national disaster".

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

The national disaster has been borne with the finest fortitude, but in Provence at least there seems to be small faith in any method of grappling with it.

From Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886) by Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco