Disasters are events that happen in every SimCity game which cause destruction and havoc in a city. Most disasters are initiated by the mayor, and do not occur naturally in game, although some disasters, such as fires, will occur randomly during gameplay. Among the most common are:
Disasters that will be show in the new Simcity (note the earthquake and tornado icons are mixed up).
Big lizard - This disaster will cause a giant lizard to come out of the ground, walk to the nearest garbage dump, eat the garbage, then tunnel back under the ground (only in SimCity 2013).
Earthquake - Rumbles the ground resulting in buildings collapsing.
Fire - Usually a very minor disaster, and may occur randomly in game.
Meteor Shower - Meteors fall out of the sky, burning up the city it lands in.
Robot Attack - A robot flys into the city and walks around crushing buildings and firing lasers.
Tornado - A devastating tornado will touch down and wreak havoc on your city.
Zombie attack - There is a zombie outbreak in your hospital and zombies attack your city until daybreak.
SimCity 4
God Mode disasters
AutoSaurus Wrecks - Added with Rush Hour. A robotic creature made of cars appears, attaches nearby vehicles to its body, and begins destroying everything in its path.
UFO - Added with Rush Hour. A mothership appears and fires a laser, destroying the targeted structure and leaving a crater. It spawns three smaller UFOs which proceed to attack the city.
Volcano - A huge volcano will rise from the ground, distorting the terrain and destroying everything in the area. Lava flows will seep into the city and start fires.
Fire - Sets buildings on fire, which will burn until put out or destroyed. This is the only God Mode disaster than can occur randomly; fires will break out in areas with no fire coverage.
Meteor - Meteors rain down from the skies, destroying structures and starting fires.
Robot Attack - Servo from The Sims descends from outer space and goes on a rampage, destroying everything in its path.
Tornado - A tornado appears and weaves its way haphazardly through the city, destroying structures within its path. The player can control the path of the tornado.
Lightning strike - Lighting will strike the target, possibly starting a fire.
Earthquake - Razes buildings and roads at the target.
Random disasters
Riot - Riots occur after prolonged strikes, or when citizens are extremely unhappy with the state of the city. They are very rare and only occur spontaneously if services and coverage are virtually non existent.
Toxic Spill - If a freight train carriage carrying toxic waste is struck by another vehicle, it will create a toxic spill. Firefighters can be dispatched to fight toxic spills and will wear hazmat suits and use foam instead of water. Some U-Drive-It missions also allow you to manually deploy toxic waste from a vehicle.
Meltdown - Nuclear Power Plants that lack water connections or are destroyed by fire will explode in a huge mushroom cloud, irradiating a very large area around the site.
Missile Misfire - If a Missile Range is in a city, there is a chance for an accidental misfire to occur destroying a section of the city.
