disaster-catastrophe

Every one feels that a disaster is imminent, as if a catastrophe is about to come.

谁都感到大事不好，似乎有什么极大的灾难即将来临。

《新英汉大辞典》

In my 2004 book Catastrophe: Risk and Response, I discussed a number of disaster possibilities.

在2004年出版的《灾难：风险与应对》一书中，我讨论了一些灾难发生的可能性。

As the rest of the world waits to see if Japan can avert a nuclear catastrophe, a small band of experts is putting their lives at risk to prevent the disaster.

正当世界的其他人等待着看日本人是否能避免核灾难时，一小部分专家正将他们的生命置于危险之下以阻止灾难。