disaster (n.)
A disaster is a catastrophe or serious misfortune.
The word came into English through French from Italian disastro. The second part comes from astro, star. One of the earliest English senses referred to an unfavourable influence or position of a star or planet.12
The word then settled into the broader meaning of a great misfortune or catastrophe. The astrological belief disappeared from ordinary use, but it remains in the word’s history.12
The storm became a disaster for the coastal towns.