What is Disaster?
A '''disaster''' is something bad that happens. Disasters can destroy homes and many kinds of work. Disasters can be of different types, but most are caused by wars, [[negligence]] or forces of nature. ==Natural disasters== {{Main|Natural disaster}} These may include [[avalanche]]s (where snow comes down a mountain), [[cold]] (where animals and people freeze), [[disease]]s (sicknesses), [[drought]]s (when there is no water), [[earthquake]]s (where the ground moves), [[famine]] (where there is not enough food), [[fire]], [[flood]] (where rivers grow and invade land), [[hail]] (hard ice falls like rain), [[heat]] that lowers the water supply, [[hurricane]]s that may destroy homes, [[landslide]]s and [[mudslide]]s, [[sink hole]]s (where a cave falls in), [[storm surge]] (where water piles up and then suddenly comes on land), [[thunderstorm]]s (rain with [[lightning]] and [[thunder]]), [[tornado]]es (currents of wind that break things), [[tsunami]] (where a wall of water comes on land), [[volcano]]es erupting, a [[waterspout]] (like a tornado on water), or [[winter storm]]s (where snow falls so thick you cannot see). Possibly the worst natural disaster recorded was the earthquake in [[Shaanxi]], China in 1556. It is measured at 9.0 on the [[Richter scale]] and 850,000 people are said to have died in the quake. ==Human-caused disasters== Disasters caused by humans include [[war]]s, [[aviation]] (flying) accidents, [[arson]], [[CBRN]]s (where a country has a powerful weapon), [[civil disorder]] (where people [[riot]] or do crimes), [[power outage]]s (where electricity is interrupted), [[public relations crisis|public relations crises]] where a company must tell bad news, [[radiation accidents]], [[space disaster|disasters in space]], a [[telecommunications outage]] (not being able to communicate), and [[terrorism]]. ==Living through a disaster== To live through a disaster, it is important that your family and your city prepare in advance. This may be making a pack of things you need in an [[emergency]], it may be