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 Disaster 

A disaster is an unexpected natural or unintentional man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant property damage or destruction, loss of lives or sometimes permanent changes to natural environment. Disasters may also be used to refer to unforseen events which devastate a company or industry such as a public relations disaster or a major flop[?]. A disaster can create huge financial losses and protection against losses due to disasters is one purpose of insurance.

The term disaster comes from the term "bad stars" and reflects the key characteristic of a disaster which is its unintentional nature. Catastrophes which are intentional such as terrorist attacks are not termed disasters.

Ancient times

Modern times

War

An attack with much collateral damage may be considered a disaster, such as the attack on KdF Ship Wilhelm Gustloff, 1945, the worst or perhaps second worst maritime incident in history, in terms of loss of life in a single vessel (see also note at the end of the article RMS Titanic).

See also:

A disaster in database terminology refers to a loss of data which cannot be recovered.

See also: Business continuity planning

Such as of old, with magic wisdom fraught, Encounter'd casual cow-hair, casual lime; Kiss'd in their slope blue elemental slate, And gave to birth our renovated Drury. Thee, son of Jove! whose sceptre was confess'd, Thence on Olympus, 'mid celestials placed, Thee I invoke! Oh PUFF my bold design, Uphold my pinions, and my verse inspire In whose pure blaze thy embryo form enroll'd, The deprecated prize Ulysses won; The prison'd winds in skins of parchment bore. The azure heights of Ithaca are seen; His curious comrades ope the mystic skins; Roar to the clouds and lash the rocking deep; Splits the stretch'd sail, and cracks the tottering mast. Where ebon Afric stems the sable tides, And sleep not in the whole skins they untie. So, when to raise the wind some lawyer tries, On speeds the smiling suit--"Pleas of our Lord Nods the prunella'd bar, attorneys smile, Till stript--nonsuited--he is doom'd to toss Lucky if, like Ulysses, he can keep We modern sailors dread not thy rebuffs; Quacks for the lame, the blind, the deaf, the dumb; And every mortal malady's a mine. Flies to the printer's devil with his bill, And load a knave with folly's rich arrears. For sloe-juice water stands transformed to wine. Burst from the vase Pactolian streams of gold; Quit the black art, and loll in lazy wealth. Win annual.html">annual tribute by the annual lie! Court, city, borough, own thy sovereign sway; And windy bubbles are the spawn it breeds. If such thy power, O hear the Muse's prayer! Spread, viewless giant, all thy arms of mist .

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