Mega-Catastrophe
Mega-Catastrophe :
A mega-catastrophe is a natural or man-made event that has significant adverse national impacts on economic activity, property or human life. (FSR, Nation Unprepared, 2007, 3) Although it is difficult to define such events with numerical precision, we know enough to make a vital distinction between relatively routine catastrophes - tornadoes, most floods, forest fires, and the like - which inevitably adversely affect many Americans in every part of the country throughout every year, and Mega-CATs like Katrina and 9/11 whose consequences not only loom large in economic and human terms in a particular city or region of the country, but also adversely affect the national economy and even psyche: interrupting and depressing economic activity, leading to a drop in national output and possibly a major disruption of financial markets and activity. (FSR, Nation Unprepared, 2007, 3)
