A catastrophic event is a cataclysmic, disastrous incident, a violent usually destructive natural occurrence. Some catastrophic events are floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Although catastrophic events may seem very different all catastrophic events are similar in one way: they all causes an impact on an ecosystems equilibrium, or stability of an ecosystem. Whether its fast winds uprooting trees, and plants, or lack of precipitation killing plants and damaging the soil.