Natural disaster : a natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or tsunami that kills or injures a lot of people
Noun Europe's 2003 heat wave claimed more than 30,000 lives, making it the continent's largest natural disaster in 50 years.
Drought : a long period when there is little or no rain
Noun This year (a) severe drought has ruined the crops.
Earthquake : a sudden violent movement of the earth's surface, sometimes causing great damage
Noun In 1906 an earthquake destroyed much of San Francisco.
emergency : something dangerous or serious, such as an accident, that happens suddenly or unexpectedly and needs fast action in order to avoid harmful results
Noun How would disabled people escape in an emergency
Famine : a situation in which there is not enough food for a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens
Noun Another crop failure could result in widespread famine.
Fire : (material that is in) the state of burning that produces flames that send out heat and light, and might produce smoke
Noun Animals are usually afraid of fire.
Missing people : someone who has disappeared and is no longer in communication with their family and friends
Noun He was reported as a missing person to the police.
Shelter : (a building designed to give) protection from bad weather, danger, or attack
Noun an air-raid shelter
First responder : someone who is one of the first people to arrive to deal with an emergency, especially a paramedic, police officer, or firefighter
Noun First responders like paramedics and firefighters could be entering areas of very dangerous radiation.
relief worker : someone who works in a particular job or in a particular way
Noun factory/social/construction workers
search and secure dog : to look somewhere carefully in order to find something
Verb The police searched the woods for the missing boy.
Predictions : a statement about what you think will happen in the future
Noun Please don't ask me to make any predictions about tomorrow's meeting.
Landfill : the process of getting rid of large amounts of rubbish by burying it, or a place where rubbish is buried
Noun 90 percent of American rubbish is dumped in landfill sites.
Forest : a large area of land covered with trees and plants, usually larger than a wood, or the trees and plants themselves
Noun A black forest
Desert : an area, often covered with sand or rocks, where there is very little rain and not many plants
Noun They were lost in the desert for nine days.
Plastic : an artificial substance that can be shaped when soft into many different forms and has many different uses
Noun He put a sheet of plastic over the broken window.
