Which word could best replace either of the underlined words in the paragraph?
An earthquake in San Francisco in 1906 was a great calamity. It caused many buildings, mostly made of brick, to crumble. The shaking also caused gas and water mains to break. This caused fires to break out throughout the city. This ((((misfortune))) destroyed many people’s homes.
A.
disaster
B.
blaze
C.
ruin
D.
shock