Collocations for disaster - noun

awful, big, catastrophic, devastating, enormous (esp. AmE), great, horrible, huge, large-scale (esp. AmE), major, massive, terrible, worst
the biggest disaster in the history of the industry

deadly (AmE)
the deadliest natural disaster in US history

imminent, impending, looming
Everyone had the feeling that disaster was imminent.
It seemed that nothing could prevent the impending disaster.

possible, potential
certain
It would spell certain economic disaster for our local community.

coming, future
He called for a full investigation to help prevent future disasters.

unforeseen
the unforeseen disaster that has just been thrust upon us

unprecedented
This is an unprecedented natural disaster.

global, national
natural
earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters

man-made
air, ecological, environmental, flood, flooding, hurricane, military, mine (esp. AmE), mining, nuclear, rail, tsunami
fears of a nuclear disaster

human, humanitarian
the world's worst humanitarian disaster

economic, financial, social
Their departure spells social disaster for the region.

personal
unfolding
the unfolding storm disaster in the South

costly
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster in history.

bring, cause, create, lead to
One person's mistakes can bring disaster to someone else.
attempts to find out what caused the disaster

mean, spell
Just one mistake can mean disaster.
The drought spelled economic disaster for the country.

avert, avoid, prevent, save sb/sth from, stave off, ward off
A major disaster was averted only just in time.
What can be done to ward off environmental disaster?

anticipate, foresee, predict
Independent analysts in the market predicted disaster.

court, invite
It's courting disaster to go into the mountains without proper weatherproof clothing.

be heading for
his firm belief that the whole world was heading for disaster

face
In the last match of the series England were facing disaster.

experience, suffer
There are many who have suffered personal disasters but managed to rebuild their lives.

handle
No government could have handled a disaster of this magnitude effectively.

overcome, survive
It was a miracle any of the passengers or crew survived the disaster.

end in, result in
The show ended in disaster when the tent collapsed.

happen, occur, strike, take place
Will we ever find out why the disaster occurred?
Everything was going fine. Then, without warning, disaster struck.
When disaster struck, no one was prepared.

unfold
Europe's worst environmental disaster is unfolding at this very moment.

befall sb/sth, hit sb/sth, strike (sb/sth)
the economic disaster that befell the country

affect sb/sth
communities affected by disasters

loom, threaten
We could all see that disaster loomed for the company.

ensue
His prediction was not heeded, and disaster ensued.

area, scene, site, zone
Only rescue workers are allowed into the disaster area.
The area has been declared a disaster zone.

aid (esp. AmE), assistance (esp. AmE), relief, response
counties eligible for federal disaster assistance
The disaster relief operation will continue over the summer.

recovery (esp. AmE)
The majority of enterprises aren't spending very much on disaster recovery at all.

plan, planning (both esp. AmE)
We have a disaster plan in place before every mission.

preparation, preparedness (both esp. AmE)
the planning and implementation of disaster preparedness

management
They had no real experience in disaster management.

declaration (AmE)
This morning I signed a disaster declaration for the state.

fund
the governor's disaster fund

victim
scenario
It become a financial disaster scenario.

film (esp. BrE), flick (informal), movie (esp. AmE)
a Hollywood disaster movie

in a/the disaster
In a disaster everyone needs to keep calm.

a disaster waiting to happen
Any one of these nuclear plants may be a disaster waiting to happen.

in the aftermath of a disaster
In the aftermath of the disaster people were too shocked to give a clear picture of what had happened.

a recipe for disaster
Letting her organize the party is a recipe for disaster (= sth that is likely to go badly wrong).

a walking disaster, a walking disaster area (both figurative, esp. BrE)
I am a walking disaster when it comes to paperwork.

a victim of a disaster
an organization which provides help for the victims of the disaster

absolute, complete, real, total, unmitigated, utter
The play was a complete disaster from beginning to end.

business, economic, electoral, fashion, financial, political, public relations (abbreviated to PR), social
the greatest electoral disaster of the century
The shirt was a definite fashion disaster.
Buying that house turned out to be a financial disaster.

prove, turn out to be
High-rise buildings proved a social disaster.

become, turn into
I can already foresee the night turning into a total disaster.

a disaster for sb/sth
The festival ended up being a financial disaster for the promoters.