A catastrophe is a particularly destructive event that occurs suddenly and causes significant damage or loss. Some organizations have specific definitions of what constitutes a catastrophe. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the federal agency responsible for leading national responses to disasters, defines a catastrophic incident as “any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions.”
FEMA is primarily concerned with catastrophes that affect infrastructure, government, and populations on a large scale, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and terror attacks that use chemical or biological agents. However, catastrophes often occur on much smaller and more localized scales. While such events may not garner national headlines or require federal intervention, they can be extremely disruptive to the lives of those involved.
Unlike major natural disasters, which are relatively rare, catastrophes are quite common. School bus crashes, helicopter crashes, falling construction debris, shootings, and other catastrophic incidents occur so often that we may be desensitized to them—until they happen to us or somebody we care about.