---

• n  an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
  the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity

• For China's farmers, the time of the annual shui tsai (water calamity) had come again.
• One of music's finest old traditions is that young conductors must make their debuts only when calamity strikes the maestro and leaves the podium bare.
• Forest fires in the State of Victoria, southeastern Australia, fanned by high winds, last week became a Commonwealth calamity.

• catastrophe
• disaster
• tragedy
• cataclysm

News & Articles

---

• 'Calamity Jane' coming to Galion this weekend, next
  Galion Community Theatre, Inc. will present the musical comedy 'Calamity Jane' at 8 p.m. June 21-22, 28-29; and 2 p.m. June 30 in The Galion Theatre, 127 Harding Way West. The score boasts such tunes asThe Black Hills of Dakota,' 'My Secret Love,' and
  June 19, 2013 - Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum
• Calamities: Five days off without a make-up; Cambridge Supt. Dettra's contract extended 3 years
  Looking ahead to the coming school year, the Cambridge City School District's Board of Education approved several issues Tuesday, among them an alternate calamity day make-up schedule.
  June 19, 2013 - The Daily Jeffersonian
• Before disaster strikes, check insurance coverage
  Many people are confused about what their homeowners' insurance covers, putting them at risk financially if calamity strikes, according to a new survey commissioned by the insurance comparison site InsuranceQuotes.com.
  June 18, 2013 - Detroit News

Quotes

---

• Robert Gates in International Herald Tribune
  At a ceremonial swearing-in attended by President George W. Bush, Gates warned that failure in Iraq would be a "calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility and endanger Americans for decades to come."
• Nawaz Sharif in Forbes
  He is a one-man calamity,Sharif told reporters. "The United States should see that Musharraf has not limited or curbed terrorism. In fact terrorism is now stronger than ever before with more sinister aspects."
• Tom Brokaw in San Jose Mercury News
  I think it's a calamity,said publicist David Brokaw, who has handled crises for celebrities. "I don't see, the way this is shaped, how you can say much about it in terms of something favorable."