natural disaster: An occurrence causing widespread destruction and distress; a natural catastrophe.
noun: The events which led to this natural disaster may be briefly told.
drought: a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops.
noun: Droughts are a direct result of increasing global temperatures.
earthquake: a series of vibrations induced in the earth's crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating.
noun: Heat and drought had continued for more than three weeks.
emergency: a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action.
noun: I had an emergency call.
famine: extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area.
noun: There was a great famine in Rome.
fire: a state, process, or instance of combustion in which fuel or other material is ignited and combined with oxygen, giving off light, heat, and flame.
noun: A fire burned brightly in the fireplace.
missing people: Absent; lost; lacking.
noun/adjective: Howie located a Salt Lake City missing girl of twelve, hidden in the loving care of a distant aunt.
shelter: something beneath, behind, or within which a person, animal, or thing is protected from storms, missiles, adverse conditions, etc.; refuge.
noun/verb: The kid needed shelter and warmth.
first responder: a person who is certified to provide medical care in emergencies before more highly trained medical personnel arrive on the scene.
noun: Your local Ambulance Service will have to be fully involved with a responder scheme.
relief worker: Something that makes a pleasant or amusing change from something tedious or unpleasant.
noun: Relief brought a smile to her lips.
search and secure dog: It is a security and search animal.
noun: It is a security and search animal.
predictions: The act of predicting.
noun: Natasha's prediction proved true.
landfill: a low area of land that is built up from deposits of solid refuse in layers covered by soil.
noun: The more waste recycled, the less is sent to landfill.
forest: a large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush; woodland.
noun: The forest air was cool and damp.
desert: a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all.
noun: The desert night was cold and dark.
plastic: any of a group of synthetic or natural organic materials that may be shaped when soft and then hardened.
noun: A small plastic bag fell out of the pocket.
