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Glite Dictionary
disaster area

disaster area

13 3.4
An area badly damaged by a storm or large accident that gets official help
  • noun
  • /dɪˈzæstər ˈɛəriə/
translation icon : zona de desastre
  • The Red Cross sets up immediate shelters for residents in disaster areas who come to them.
  • declared a disaster area

They're leading in many refugee camps and disaster areas, helping, serving.

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Examples

  • The governor has officially designated this region as a disaster area following the devastating hurricane.

  • After the earthquake, the city was recognized as a disaster area to facilitate emergency relief efforts.

  • This is a disaster area.

    Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014)

  • Governor just declared this whole county a disaster area.

    Taking Woodstock (2009)

  • The President has declared all of North America a disaster area.

    Tropic Thunder (2008)

  • There is still a disaster area in and around New York and New Jersey to clean up.

    Blog text (25)

  • Governors from North Carolina to New York have declared their states disaster areas.

    Blog text (31)

  • - Appealing for calm, the Governor offered hope, announcing the entire coast has now been designated a disaster area.

    Malibu Shark Attack (2009)

  • The county was declared an emergency disaster area by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) both times.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Twenty-four of South Carolina's 46 counties were declared major disaster areas by President Bush, which qualified them for federal disaster assistance.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

danger zone
vsdisaster area
13 3.8

An area or situation where people are likely to be hurt

is already badly damaged by a major event and recognized for emergency aid

Antonyms

safety
∞ 1.0

A place or condition that protects you from danger

How Damaged

disaster area
13 3.4
intact
304 3.7

Surface Forms

disaster area singular
disaster areas plural

Morphology

disaster + area

The meaning 'an area badly affected by a disaster' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'disaster' (a catastrophic event) with 'area' (a region). This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard noun + noun compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Disaster area comes from the simple image of a place where a disaster has hit an area. When governments 'declare' a place a disaster area, they mark it so emergency teams can bring help. That's why it means 'a place badly damaged and set to receive aid'.