disaster area
nounDefinition of disaster area
: an area officially declared to be the scene of an emergency created by a disaster and therefore qualified to receive certain types of governmental aid (such as emergency loans and relief supplies)
Examples of disaster area in a Sentence
After the hurricane, the state was declared a disaster area.
His office is a disaster area. How can he find anything in all this clutter?
Recent Examples on the Web
The Coachella Valley and Palm Desert were declared disaster areas by Riverside County authorities; property damage was set at $10 million, with 300 homes damaged or destroyed in Palm Springs. — Los Angeles Times, "Could a hurricane lash Los Angeles? 80 years ago, this deadly storm came close," 22 Aug. 2019 That result could benefit anyone who needs to travel quickly across long distances on foot: rescue workers searching a large disaster area, U.S. Army soldiers or Marines on the march, or even hikers out for fun. — Jeremy Hsu, Scientific American, "An Innovative Robotic Exosuit Boosts Both Walking and Running," 16 Aug. 2019 That will temporarily protect people who live in or near disaster areas but suffered a partial or no loss. — Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle, "Can California avoid a third year of fire catastrophe? Here’s what’s been fixed — and what hasn’t," 20 June 2019 But full-on droughts have affected the region, such as the one in 1981 that forced Gov. Bob Graham to declare South Florida a disaster area. — Andrew Boryga, sun-sentinel.com, "Just add humidity: How this air-to-water machine can quench your thirst," 17 June 2019 Volunteers return to the disaster area for a three-week period annually to spay, neuter and vaccinate the stray population. — Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, "Puppies and nuclear reactors: HBO series draws attention to stray dogs of Chernobyl," 18 June 2019 The success of the dramatic mini-series about one of the most horrific moments in accidental explosion history has sparked interest in fans to take trips to the real disaster area in Ukraine. — Alexis Reliford, refinery29.com, "Chernobyl Obsessives Are Taking It To The Next Level By Visiting The Nuclear Site," 10 June 2019 The Colorado Department of Agriculture said Friday that Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has designated 28 Colorado counties as primary natural disaster areas. — Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, "Colorado’s drought is over, but the effects remain for farmers, ranchers," 7 June 2019 The president late Monday agreed to a request by Gov. Jerry Brown to declare California a major disaster area, freeing up large amounts of federal aid. — Jim Carlton, WSJ, "Hunt for Bodies Expands in Northern California as a Southern Blaze Is Largely Contained," 13 Nov. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disaster area.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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