Act of God is a common legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible. This does not protect those who put others in danger of acts of God through negligence, such as a camp counselor who instructs a group of children on a hike to stand under a tree to escape a lightning storm. This is a list of legal terms with short definitions. ... Look up Flood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A flood (in Old English flod, a word common to Teutonic languages; compare German Flut, Dutch vloed from the same root as is seen in flow, float) is an overflow of water, an expanse of water submerging land, a deluge. ... A natural disaster is a catastrophe that occurs when a hazardous physical event (such as a volcanic eruption, earthquake, landslide, hurricane, or any of the other natural phenomena listed below) precipitates extensive damage to property, a large number of casualties, or both. ... Lightning over Pentagon City in Arlington County, Virginia Lightning is a powerful natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. ...

A better example is that of pluviculturalist Charles Hatfield who was hired by the city of San Diego to fill the Morena reservoir to capacity with rainwater for $10,000. The region was soon flooded by heavy rains, bursting the reservoir's dam, killing nearly 20 people, destroying 110 bridges (leaving 2), knocking out telephone and telegraph lines, and causing an estimated $3,500,000 in damage in total. When the city refused to pay him (he had forgotten to sign the contract), he sued the city. The floods were ruled an act of God, excluding him from liability but also from payment. Charles Mallory Hatfield (c. ... Nickname: Americas Finest City Motto: {{{motto}}} Official website: http://www. ... The telephone or phone (Greek: tele = far away and phone = voice) is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly voice and speech) across distance. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ...

See also

• Force majeure

Force majeure (French for greater force) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees one or both parties from liabilities when an extraordinary event beyond the control of the parties, such as flood, war, riot, act of God, prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the...

Contemporary Reference

• 'Act of God' Named Top Phrase of 2005