Ground zero: the pictures from Indonesia's ground zero is beyond description.

It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. see: every cloud has a silver lining.

Time bomb: Rising unemployment is a political time bomb for the government. see:
keep the lid on sth, pressure cooker, the chickens come home to roost, it will all
come out in the wash, shoot sth into the long grass, laying up troubles, the worm
will turn
An accident/ disaster waiting to happen
Dice with death, cheat death
See: flirt with death.
Court(v3): to court danger/death/disaster
As a politician he has often courted controversy.
Tempt fate/ destiny: She felt it would be tempting fate to try the difficult climb
a second time.
Play with fire.
The jaws of death/ defeat etc: The team snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
They narrowly escaped from the jaws of death. see: spare sbs blushes, a fate worse
than death,
Come a cropper: We nearly came a cropper in the second half of the game.

===================================================================
#DISASTERS

An Act of God
Aftershock: The area suffered a series of aftershocks measuring up to 6.3 on the
Richter scale.

Avalanche= snowslide: alpine villages destroyed in an avalanche

He was killed in an avalanche while skiing.
(figurative) We received an avalanche of letters in reply to our advertisement.
Mudslide
Flashflood: More than 80 people were feared dead last night after flash floods,
the worst in 34 years.
Floodwater: The floodwaters have now receded.
Storm water
Slide(n4): SYNONYM landslide
I was afraid of starting a slide of loose stones.
Landslide= landfall: The house was buried beneath a landslide.
SEE ALSO landslip
Landslip: The road was closed after another landslip.
Flood sb out. see: smoke sb out.
Flood(n): The heavy rain has caused floods in many parts of the country.
flood damage
Police have issued flood warnings for Nevada.
an appeal to help flood victims
the Thames flood barrier
The river is in flood (= has more water in it than normal and has caused a flood).
SEE ALSO flash flood
Deluge(n): SYNONYM flood
When the snow melts, the mountain stream becomes a deluge.
Flood(v): The cellar floods whenever it rains heavily.
flood something If the pipe bursts it could flood the whole house.
Deluge(v): The campsite was deluged by a flash flood.
Swamp(v): SYNONYM engulf
The little boat was swamped by the waves.
Swim(4): swim (in something) The main course was swimming in oil.
swim (with something) Her eyes were swimming with tears.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 9th edition Oxford University Press, 2015

Flooded: flooded gates

Floodgate: (figurative) If the case is successful, it may open the floodgates to
more damages claims against the industry (= start something that will be difficult
to stop).
Crest(v): (figurative) The level of debt crested at a massive $290 billion in
2009.
Subside(2): The flood waters gradually subsided. see: recede

Famine: a severe famine

disasters such as floods and famine
the threat of widespread famine in the area
to raise money for famine relief
Starvation: to die of/from starvation
Millions will face starvation next year as a result of the drought.
a starvation diet (= one in which you do not have much to eat)
The pilot had lost consciousness because of oxygen starvation.
They were on starvation wages (= extremely low wages).
The workers lived in poor conditions and were paid starvation wages.
Tragedy: It's a tragedy that she died so young.
Tragedy struck the family when their son was hit by a car and killed.
The whole affair ended in tragedy.
Investigators are searching the wreckage of the plane to try to find the cause of
the tragedy.
Disaster: SYNONYM catastrophe
an air disaster
environmental disasters
Thousands died in the disaster.
a natural disaster (= one that is caused by nature)
Catastrophe: SYNONYM disaster
Early warnings of rising water levels prevented another major catastrophe.
Calamity: SYNONYM disaster
Sudan suffered a series of calamities during the 1980s.
His financial help saved the magazine from total calamity.
Cataclysm: to survive the cataclysm of the Black Death
Meltdown: The country is in economic meltdown.
a meltdown on the New York Stock Exchange
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 9th edition Oxford University Press, 2015

Calamitous: SYNONYM disastrous

The bridge collapsed in the storm, with calamitous results.
Disastrous: SYNONYM catastrophic, devastating
a disastrous harvest/fire/result
Lowering interest rates could have disastrous consequences for the economy.
It was a disastrous start to the season for the team.
Catastrophic: SYNONYM disastrous
a catastrophic earthquake/flood/wildfire
Cataclysmic: SYNONYM catastrophic (1)
a cataclysmic earthquake/flood/eruption

Tragic: He was killed in a tragic accident at the age of 24.

Cuts in the health service could have tragic consequences for patients.
It would be tragic if her talent remained unrecognized.
a rather tragic story
Spectre: The country is haunted by the spectre of civil war.
These weeks of drought have once again raised the spectre of widespread famine.
see: bugaboo. ghost

Armageddon: nuclear Armageddon

Apocalypse(3): an environmental apocalypse
Apocalypse(1): Civilization is on the brink of apocalypse.
Apocalyptic(1): an apocalyptic view of history
apocalyptic warnings of the end of society
Apocalyptic(2): an apocalyptic scene

Aftermath: A lot of rebuilding took place in the aftermath of the war.

the assassination of the Prime Minister and its immediate aftermath
How does a country cope with the aftermath of war?
The president visited the region in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
Fatality: Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities.
a campaign to reduce the number of fatalities on the roads
Toll(2): The official death toll has now reached 7 000.
the wars growing casualty toll
Every hour, the news bulletin reported the mounting toll of casualties.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 9th edition Oxford University Press, 2015

Claim(6): The car crash claimed three lives.

Rampage: Gangs of youths went on the rampage in the city yesterday.

A state of emergency was declared following overnight rampages by student
demonstrators.
Slick(n)= oil slick: a 50 km slick from the damaged tanker

Misfortune: SYNONYM blow, disaster

She bore her misfortunes bravely. with fortitude.

Adventurer
Adventuress

==================================================================

Strike sb down: He was struck down by cancer at the age of thirty.

Strike(5): Two days later tragedy struck.
strike somebody/something The area was struck by an outbreak of cholera.
See: experience: stricken, afflict, cursed with etc.
Stricken: She raised her stricken face and begged for help.
We went to the aid of the stricken boat.
stricken with/by something Whole villages were stricken with the disease.
He was stricken by a heart attack on his fiftieth birthday.

Subject sth to sth: to be subjected to ridicule

The city was subjected to heavy bombing.
The defence lawyers claimed that the prisoners had been subjected to cruel and
degrading treatment.
Condemn: SYNONYM doom
He was condemned to a life of hardship.
They were condemned to spend every holiday on a rainy campsite.
Consign(2): The decision to close the factory has consigned 6 000 people to the
scrapheap.
A car accident consigned him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. see this
at: flexiblity.

Plunge sth into sth: The news plunged them into deep depression.
There was a flash of lightning and the house was plunged into darkness. see: plum
to new depths st: experience.
Be/ fall prey to sth: Since the attack, she had fallen prey to irrational fears.

Purgatory: SYNONYM hell

Getting up at four o'clock every morning is sheer purgatory.
Death trap. see: hassle.

===============================================================

All-clear: The children hid in the basement until the all-clear sounded.

In the clear: It seems that the original suspect is in the clear.

Let sb out: They think the attacker was very tallso that lets you out.
The coast is clear: As soon as the coast was clear he climbed in through the
window.

Safety net: a financial safety net

people who have fallen through the safety net and ended up homeless on the streets
Backstair

Reaction(4): a skilled driver with quick reactions

Rapid-response: a UN rapid-response unit
a nurse in the rapid-response team
rapid-response systems for early detection of the virus
Red alert: Following the bomb blast, local hospitals have been put on red alert.
The water authority has issued a red alert until the cause of the pollution has
been removed. see: alert at: attention.
Biohazard
Smoke alarm= smoke detector.