自然灾害 (zìrán zāihài)

自然灾害 refers to catastrophic natural events such as earthquakes, floods, typhoons, droughts, and wildfires that cause significant damage to human life and property. It is the standard compound term in disaster management and environmental discourse.

Meanings

[noun] natural disaster; natural catastrophe

Example Sentences

气候变化导致自然灾害的频率和强度不断增加，对全球造成严峻威胁。 Qìhòu biànhuà dǎozhì zìrán zāihài de pínlǜ hé qiángdù bùduàn zēngjiā, duì quánqiú zàochéng yánjùn wēixié. Climate change is causing natural disasters to increase in both frequency and intensity, posing a severe threat to the world.

政府建立了完善的自然灾害预警系统，能够提前发出预警信号。 Zhèngfǔ jiànlìle wánshàn de zìrán zāihài yùjǐng xìtǒng, nénggòu tíqián fāchū yùjǐng xìnhào. The government has established a comprehensive natural disaster early warning system capable of issuing alerts in advance.

救援队伍在自然灾害发生后第一时间赶赴灾区，展开紧急救援工作。 Jiùyuán duìwǔ zài zìrán zāihài fāshēng hòu dì yī shíjiān gǎnfù zāiqū, zhǎnkāi jǐnjí jiùyuán gōngzuò. Rescue teams rushed to the disaster area at the first moment after the natural disaster struck and launched emergency rescue operations.

历史上，自然灾害曾多次导致大规模的人口迁移和社会动荡。 Lìshǐ shàng, zìrán zāihài céng duō cì dǎozhì dà guīmó de rénkǒu qiānyí hé shèhuì dòngdàng. Throughout history, natural disasters have repeatedly caused large-scale population displacement and social unrest.

提高社区的防灾减灾能力是降低自然灾害损失的有效途径。 Tígāo shèqū de fáng zāi jiǎn zāi nénglì shì jiàngdī zìrán zāihài sǔnshī de yǒuxiào tújìng. Improving communities' disaster prevention and mitigation capacity is an effective way to reduce losses from natural disasters.

国际社会应加强合作，共同应对自然灾害带来的人道主义危机。 Guójì shèhuì yīng jiāqiáng hézuò, gòngtóng yìngduì zìrán zāihài dàilái de réndào zhǔyì wēijī. The international community should strengthen cooperation to jointly address the humanitarian crises caused by natural disasters.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
发生自然灾害	a natural disaster occurs
应对自然灾害	to respond to/cope with natural disasters
自然灾害预警	natural disaster early warning
防灾减灾	disaster prevention and mitigation
自然灾害救援	natural disaster relief
自然灾害损失	losses from natural disasters

Usage Notes

自然灾害 is the standard compound covering all types of natural catastrophes: 地震 (earthquake), 洪水 (flood), 台风 (typhoon), 干旱 (drought), 泥石流 (mudslide), 海啸 (tsunami), etc. When discussing a specific type, the specific word is used; 自然灾害 refers to the category as a whole.

In academic and policy writing, 自然灾害 frequently collocates with 应对 (respond to), 防范 (guard against), 风险 (risk), and 损失 (losses). The compound 防灾减灾 (disaster prevention and reduction) is the standard policy phrase.

Memory Hook

自然 (nature) + 灾 (disaster/calamity) + 害 (harm/damage) -- harm and disaster caused by nature itself.