There is a wide range of definitions for disasters in general. According to Gospodinov and Burnham (2008: pp.
26-28) the word disaster implies a sudden overwhelming and unforeseen event. At the household level, a disaster
could result in a major illness, death, a substantial economic or social misfortune. At the community level, it could
be a flood, a fire, a collapse of buildings in an earthquake, the destruction of livelihoods, an epidemic or
displacement through conflict. When occurring at district or provincial level, a large number of people can be
affected. Most disasters result in the inability of those affected to cope with outside assistance”