A ‣ Natural disasters

There was a hurricane / snowstorm / forest fire there last year.
hurricane: a very strong wind
snowstorm: a lot of snow and wind at the same time
forest fire: when it is very dry and trees catch fire

San Francisco has had a lot of earthquakes [when the earth moves].

There were serious floods in the north yesterday. [too much water]

The river often floods after heavy rain. [water goes over the river banks]

B ‣ Man-made problems

There are too many people in some places. Cities are too crowded.

Many people are:
poor: they do not have enough money
hungry: they do not have enough food
homeless: they do not have a place to live
unemployed: they do not have a job

There is a lot of pollution in many places. [when the air, water or earth is dirty and bad for people, plants and animals]
The river is polluted and a lot of fish have died.
The air pollution is very bad today.

The American War of Independence started in 1775 and ended in 1783. [fighting between two or more countries or nationalities] It lasted for eight years.

The teachers are on strike today. [when people refuse to work because, for example, they want more money]

He had a car crash on the way to work.

The traffic jams in the city are terrible in the rush hour [times when everyone is going to work].