BharatNotes Cascade
noun (countable); also verb (intransitive)Usage in a UPSC answer
The 2015 Sikkim earthquake exemplified a cascading disaster wherein the initial tremor triggered multiple landslides that blocked the Teesta River, and the resulting temporary dams, on breaching, caused downstream flooding that destroyed hydropower infrastructure and isolated district headquarters for weeks.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
cascade (verb), cascading (adjective/participle), cascaded (past tense), multi-cascade (compound adjective)
Root
Italian cascata = waterfall, from cascare = to fall; ultimately from Latin casum, past participle of cadere = to fall
Etymology
Borrowed into English from French cascade, itself from Italian cascata (waterfall), a noun derived from cascare (to fall), tracing to Vulgar Latin casicare from Latin cadere (to fall). The word first appeared in English in the late 17th century to describe stepped waterfalls. By the 20th century, the metaphorical extension to 'chain of falling events' became standard in systems theory, electronics (cascade circuits), and disaster risk science. The compound 'cascading disaster' entered UNDRR terminology formally in the early 2000s.
Memory Hook
A CASCADE is like a waterfall: once water starts falling over the first ledge, it FALLS onto the next, then the next, unstoppably. In disaster terms, the first event 'falls' into triggering the next — picture dominoes tipping over a cliff edge, each cascade level lower and more destructive than the last.
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