disastri

Disastri is the Italian plural of disastro, a noun that refers to events causing significant damage, disruption, or loss. The term is used across journalism, governance, and scholarship to describe catastrophic occurrences that affect people, property, or the environment.

Disastri can be natural, such as earthquakes, floods, or severe storms, or man-made, including industrial accidents, large transportation incidents, or complex humanitarian crises. The context often determines the scope and severity described, ranging from local incidents to region-wide or global impacts.

The word originates from Latin disastrum, itself borrowed from Greek diastron meaning ill-starred. In Classical Latin and later Italian, the term carried a sense that misfortune resulted from celestial misalignment, but in modern usage it denotes misfortune and damage more generally.

In Italian, disastro and the plural disastri are common terms; catastrofe is a related but more formal or literary word for catastrophe. The choice between them depends on tone and register. Journalistic and policy contexts often prefer disastro/disastri for broad, non-technical reference, while catastrofe may be reserved for dramatic, literary, or high-register usage.