A catastrophe is a sudden, often life-threatening calamity or disaster that pushes people to the outer limits of their coping capability. Catastrophes include natural disasters.
such as:
- earthquakes
- tornadoes
- fires
- floods
- hurricanes
- wars
- torture
- automobile accidents
- violent physical attacks
- sexual assaults
Catastrophes often continue to affect their victims’ mental health long after the event has ended. For example, in 1972 a dam burst and flooded the West Virginia mining town of Buffalo Creek, destroying the town.
Two years after the disaster, most of the adult survivors continued to show emotional disturbances.
Similarly, most of the survivors of concentration camps in World War II (1939-1945) continued to experience nightmares and other symptoms of severe emotional problems long after their release from the camps.
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