Calamity

Calamity is a disastrous event that causes widespread harm, loss, or suffering and is typically unexpected or sudden. In general use, it conveys severity beyond ordinary misfortune. Etymology: the word derives from Latin calamitas, meaning loss or misfortune, and entered Old French as calamité before English adoption. Historically, calamity has been used in religious, literary, and political discourse to describe cataclysmic events or crises.

Calamities can be natural, such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, hurricanes, or wildfires; or they can be man-made or hybrid, including industrial accidents, war, financial collapses, or environmental disasters caused by pollution or technological failure. Some events qualify as calamities due to their scale and consequences rather than their classification as natural or human-made.

Impact includes loss of life and injury, destruction of property, displacement of populations, disruption of services, and long-term economic or social hardship. Response typically involves emergency relief, rescue operations, humanitarian aid, reconstruction, and policy measures designed to reduce vulnerability. Preparedness and mitigation—such as early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, land-use planning, and robust disaster management—aim to lessen the severity of future calamities. See also disaster, catastrophe, misfortune.