आपदा एक प्राकृतिक या मानव निर्मित जोखिम का प्रभाव है जो समाज या पर्यावरण को नकारात्मक रूप से प्रभावित करता है। आपदाशब्द ज्योतिष विज्ञान से आया है। /

A disaster is a serious problem that happens over a period of time and causes so much harm to people, things, economies, or the environment that the affected community or society cannot handle it on its own. In theory, natural disasters are those caused by natural hazards, whereas human-made disasters are those caused by human hazards. However, in modern times, the divide between natural, human-made or human-accelerated disasters is more and more difficult to draw. In fact, all disasters can be seen as human-made, due to human failure to introduce appropriate emergency management measures.