disaster
/dɪˈzɑːstə(r)/noun
1- a sudden event, such as an accident or a natural catastrophe, that causes great damage or loss of life灾难, 大祸（如事故或自然灾害）：
159 people died in the disaster
有159人在这场灾难中死去
mass noun disaster struck within minutes of take-off.起飞后几分钟内灾难就发生了。
1.1
- as modifier denoting a genre of films that use natural or accidental catastrophe as the mainspring of plot and setting（以自然灾害或意外灾害为主要情节和背景的）灾难片：
a disaster movie.
一部灾难片。
1.2
- an event or fact that has unfortunate consequences不幸事件; 不幸：
a string of personal disasters
一连串的个人不幸
mass noun reduced legal aid could spell financial disaster.减少法律援助可能会导致财政祸患。
1.3
- informal a person, act, or thing that is a failure〈非正式〉失败的人（或行为、事件）：
my perm is a total disaster.
我的烫发彻底失败了。
词源
late 16th cent.: from Italian disastro 'ill-starred event', from dis- (expressing negation) + astro 'star' （from Latin astrum）.