A disaster that results from technological or human hazards, such as chemical spills or a plane crash, is called what?

• A. Human-instigated disaster
• B. Natural disaster
• C. Environmental disaster
• D. Unavoidable incident

Answer: (A)

Disasters can be understood by what causes them: natural forces or human-driven factors. When an incident arises from technology, human error, or deliberate action—like a chemical spill or a plane crash—it’s classified as a human-made, or man-made, disaster. This emphasizes that the root cause is human or technological, not a natural event. The term “human-instigated disaster” fits this idea because it signals the origin lies in human activity or a technological process, rather than natural processes.

A natural disaster, by contrast, comes from natural forces such as earthquakes or hurricanes and does not center on human-caused origin. An environmental disaster often focuses on ecological damage and may involve human activity, but it’s not as precise about the immediate cause being human action or technology. An unavoidable incident is too vague to capture the specific link to human or technological causes.