"There can be a disastrous electrical catastrophe, an arrhythmia leading to sudden death.
The GOP launched the Iraq War -- the most disastrous foreign policy catastrophe in the last half-century -- and they want to talk about competency and honesty in foreign policy?
Earthquake catastrophes have disastrous effects in the densely populated areas as well as at the sites of nuclear power plants, hazardous waste dumping grounds, nuclear waste depositories, large-scale technical constructions, etc.
"Mitt Romney is a catastrophic response to a catastrophe, whereas Obama is a disastrous response to a catastrophe.
But BMW is still reeling from its last catastrophe in Britain, the disastrous acquisition of Rover Cars.
The wars of the post-colonial era had yet to devastate the African continent, whereas many Asian countries had had only a decade or so of recovery from their own catastrophes; China embarked on its disastrous Great Leap Forward as late as 1958.
"Whether caused by poor construction or natural catastrophes, school collapses invariably have disastrous effects on children," said Cream Wright, UNICEF Global Chief of Education.
In Nick Payne's "If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet," a professor's obsession with the disastrous impact of climate change blinds him to the looming catastrophe in his own family.
For those fortunate enough not to be anywhere near Sendai, Soma, or Ishinomaki, the first numbers left the impression of a catastrophe averted — a natural disaster that wasn't nearly as disastrous as it might have been.
But if there's a face and a place for the quiet catastrophe facing many farmers, particularly dairy farmers still reeling from last year's disastrous drop in prices, it's hard to imagine one bleaker than the John Deere tractor pulling Mr. Pierson's coffin atop a flat-bed truck, the death of one farmer but perhaps a requiem for a way of life as well.
