disaster; calamity; misfortune. Disaster (災害), fire (火災), prevention (防災)
災害（さいがい）、火災（かさい）、防災（ぼうさい）、震災（しんさい）
disaster, fire, disaster prevention, earthquake disaster
On-reading (サイ) is used in compounds; kun-reading (わざわ(い)) is used standalone or with okurigana. Appears in many compounds — memorize the key ones rather than the kanji in isolation. Has multiple meanings (disaster; calamity; misfortune. Disaster (災害)). Context determines which applies — pay attention in reading passages. This kanji forms verbs/adjectives with okurigana. Practice both the word form and compound forms.
From the JLP Quiz question bank — the word in the form it is actually tested in.
日本全国___多くの人が震災を経験した。
Answer: にわたって
しかし、林業の担い手不足や木材価格の低下によって、管理されない「放置林」が増加しており、これが土砂災害のリスクを高めているという指摘もある。
Answer: 約67%
