Final answer:
The term that describes someone fleeing a disaster is 'refugee.' A refugee is an individual forced to leave their country due to war, persecution, or natural disaster, seeking safety and asylum in host countries.
Step-by-step explanation:
The word that describes someone who is fleeing a disaster is refugee. A refugee is an individual who has been forced to leave their country to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. For example, in the wake of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, a camp arose as approximately 1.5 million people were displaced after this catastrophic event. The term 'refugee' is often associated with other concepts such as asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, and the diaspora, which contribute to the broader scope of involuntary migration or forced displacement.
Asylum-seekers are those whose claims to refugee status have not been validated, whereas refugees have been acknowledged as such. Managing the influx of refugees is a complex socio-political challenge that has to balance humanitarian aid with the logistics and resources of the host nations. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), by the end of 2019, there were, an estimated 79.5 million forcibly displaced persons around the world, including those fleeing the Syrian civil war and other global conflicts.