- [countable]
an unexpected event, such as a very bad accident, a flood or a fire, that kills a lot of people or causes a lot of damage 灾难；灾祸；灾害 the world's worst humanitarian disaster 世界上最严重的人道主义灾难 an environmental/ecological disaster 环境/生态灾难 a rail/mining/tsunami disaster 铁路/采矿/海啸灾难 - in a disaster
Thousands died in the disaster. 数千人在这场灾祸中丧生。 They provided more than $2.3 billion in disaster relief. 他们提供了超过23亿美元的救灾援助。 a disaster area/zone 灾区/灾区 It was taking years for disaster victims to settle and rebuild. 灾难受害者需要数年时间来安顿和重建。 Given the threat of earthquake, we recognized the need for disaster recovery centres. 鉴于地震的威胁，我们认识到需要灾难恢复中心。
Extra ExamplesEurope's worst environmental disaster is unfolding at this very moment. 欧洲最严重的环境灾难此时正愈演愈烈。 He called for a full investigation to help prevent future disasters. 他要求展开全面调查，以防止未来可能发生的灾难。 In a disaster everyone needs to keep calm. 灾难中每个人都需要保持镇静。 In the aftermath of the disaster people were too shocked to give a clear picture of what had happened. 灾难过后人们心有余悸，无法清晰地描述所发生的一切。 It was a miracle any of the passengers or crew survived the disaster. 在这场灾难中若有任何乘客或机组人员生还，那简直就是个奇迹。 No government could have handled a disaster of this magnitude effectively. 当时无论哪个政府，都无法有效地处理如此大的灾难。 Only rescue workers are allowed into the disaster area. 只允许救援人员进入灾难现场。 The area has been declared a disaster zone. 该地区被宣布为受灾地区。 the need for a disaster management plan 灾难管理计划的必要性 The disaster relief operation will continue over the summer. 救灾援助整个夏天都将继续。 The majority of enterprises aren't spending very much on disaster recovery at all. 多数企业没有在灾后重建上投入很多资金。 They had no real experience in disaster management. 他们没有实际的灾害管理经验。 This morning I signed a disaster declaration for the state. 今天上午我签署了宣布该州进入灾难状态的公告。 We have a disaster plan in place before every mission. 每次执行任务前我们都会预先制订灾难应急方案。 Will we ever find out why the disaster occurred? 我们会找出灾难发生的原因吗？ a Hollywood disaster movie 一部好莱坞灾难片 an organization which provides help for the victims of the disaster 向灾民提供帮助的组织 attempts to find out what caused the disaster 寻找灾难原因的努力 communities affected by disasters 受灾的社区 counties eligible for federal disaster assistance 有资格接受联邦救灾援助的县 fears of a nuclear disaster 对核灾难的恐惧 finding out why the disaster occurred 查找灾难发生的原因 providing help for the victims of the disaster 向灾民提供帮助 the biggest disaster in British mining history 英国采矿史上最大的灾难 the governor's disaster fund 州长的救灾资金 the planning and implementation of disaster preparedness 防灾方案及其实施 the unfolding storm disaster in the South 南方愈演愈烈的暴风雨灾害 Such environmental disasters will become increasingly frequent. 这样的环境灾难会越来越频繁。 They were involved in the 2001 ferry disaster. 他们被牵扯到2001年的渡船灾难事件。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- awful
- big
- catastrophic
- …
- bring
- cause
- create
- …
- happen
- occur
- strike
- …
- area
- scene
- site
- …
- in a/the disaster
- a disaster waiting to happen
- in the aftermath of a disaster
- a recipe for disaster
- …
- [countable, uncountable]
a very bad situation that causes problems 不幸；祸患 Losing your job doesn't have to be such a disaster. 丢了工作不一定就是大难临头。 Disaster struck when the wheel came off. 车轮脱落，灾难就来了。 Archie has to act quickly to avert disaster. 阿奇必须迅速行动以避免灾难。 They could think of no way to avoid the impending disaster. 他们想不出任何办法来避免即将到来的灾难。 Many business partnerships end in disaster. 许多商业伙伴关系以灾难告终。 - disaster for somebody
The discovery of the disease among sheep spells financial disaster for farmers. 这种疾病在绵羊中的发现给农民带来了财政灾难。 Letting her organize the party is a recipe for disaster (= something that is likely to go badly wrong). 让她来组织这次聚会非坏事不可。
Extra ExamplesBuying that house turned out to be a financial disaster. 买那座房子结果证明是理财上的失败。 The festival ended up being a financial disaster for the promoters. 节日最终对筹办者而言是财务上的失败。 Everyone had the feeling that disaster was imminent. 每个人都感觉到灾难在逼近。 Everything was going fine. Then, without warning, disaster struck. 一切进展顺利。然后，在没有任何警示的情况下，灾难降临了。 High-rise buildings proved a social disaster. 高层建筑证明是个社会灾难。 His prediction was not heeded, and disaster ensued. 没人理会他的预测，结果灾难发生了。 In the last match of the series England were facing disaster. 在系列赛的最后一场比赛中，英格兰队面对的是灾难。 Independent analysts in the market predicted disaster. 市场中的独立分析师预测会有灾难。 It become a financial disaster scenario. 这变成了一场金融灾难。 It seemed that nothing could prevent the impending disaster. 似乎没有什么可以阻止这场迫在眉睫的灾难。 It would spell certain economic disaster for our local community. 这会给我们当地社区带来某种经济灾难。 Just one mistake can mean disaster. 一个错误便会引发一场灾难。 It's courting disaster to go into the mountains without proper weatherproof clothing. 进山却不携带些防风雨的衣物，简直是自找苦吃。 One person's mistakes can bring disaster to someone else. 一个人的错误可能祸及他人。 The drought spelled economic disaster for the country. 干旱在该国引发了经济灾难。 The festival ended up being a financial disaster for the promoters. 节日最终对筹办者而言是财务上的失败。 The show ended in disaster when the tent collapsed. 帐篷倒塌，演出以灾难收场。 Their departure spells social disaster for the region. 他们的离开给这一地区带来了社会灾难。 There are many who have suffered personal disasters but managed to rebuild their lives. 有许多人遭受过个人不幸，但仍重建了自己的生活。 We could all see that disaster loomed for the company. 我们都看得出来灾难正向该公司逼近。 a near disaster in the city centre 市中心一件近乎灾难的事 his firm belief that the whole world was heading for disaster 他坚信整个世界正走向灾难 the greatest electoral disaster of the century 本世纪最失败的选举 the unforeseen disaster that has just been thrust upon us 落在我们头上的始料未及的灾难 What can be done to ward off environmental disaster? 如何避免环境灾难？ Although there was always the possibility of flooding, the Nile seldom brought disaster to Egypt. 尽管总是有可能发生洪水，尼罗河却很少给埃及带来灾难。 A disaster recovery plan allows a business to continue as usual in the event of system failures. 灾难恢复计划允许企业在系统出现故障时照常运营。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- awful
- big
- catastrophic
- …
- bring
- cause
- create
- …
- happen
- occur
- strike
- …
- area
- scene
- site
- …
- in a/the disaster
- a disaster waiting to happen
- in the aftermath of a disaster
- a recipe for disaster
- …
- [countable] (informal)
a complete failure 彻底失败的人（或事） As a teacher, he's a disaster. 他当老师压根儿就不称职。 The play's first night was a total disaster. 这出戏头一晚就彻底演砸了。 a complete/total/absolute/unmitigated disaster 彻底的/全面的/绝对的/彻底的灾难
Extra ExamplesTopics Difficulty and failurea2I am a walking disaster when it comes to paperwork. 我做文书工作总是搞得一塌糊涂。 I can already foresee the night turning into a total disaster. 现在我就可以预知这将是一个彻头彻尾的失败之夜。 The play was a complete disaster from beginning to end. 这部戏自始至终都很失败。 The shirt was a definite fashion disaster. 这件衬衫毫无时尚可言。 He was a competent accountant, but as a manager he's a disaster. 他是个称职的会计师，可作为经理他是个彻底的失败者。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- absolute
- complete
- real
- …
- prove
- turn out to be
- become
- …
- a disaster for somebody/something
Word Originlate 16th cent.: from Italian disastro ‘ill-starred event’, from dis- (expressing negation) + astro ‘star’ (from Latin astrum).
Idioms
an accident/a disaster waiting to happen
a thing or person that is very likely to cause danger or a problem in the future because of the condition it is in or the way they behave 隐患 Any one of these nuclear plants may be a disaster waiting to happen. 这些核电厂中的任何一个都可能会成为灾难隐患。