City disasters:

Learn how to prevent and manage city disasters like pirate attacks, volcanoes, earthquakes, fires, plagues, floods, and famine in Sid Meier's Civilization VII. Protect your cities!

Hey there! So, after you wrap up a turn in Civilization VII, sometimes things can get a little… chaotic. Nature throws curveballs, or maybe your citizens just get a bit too rowdy. These random events, called city disasters, can really mess with your progress, but don't sweat it – we'll walk through how to handle them.

Under attack by pirates: If pirates decide your city looks like a tasty target, they'll wipe out all its food and production. This means you'll have to restart any building projects and your city's growth will take way longer. The good news? Build a barrack in the city, and pirates won't even bother showing up.

Volcano: This one’s a real bummer, especially if you don't have a temple in the city. It'll destroy a random building – imagine losing your cathedral! You can either shell out some gold to rebuild it instantly or let the city slowly rebuild it itself. Just a heads-up, volcanoes won't strike a city that doesn't have any buildings yet.

Earthquake: These are super rare, but they can happen to any city. Like a volcano, it'll wreck one building. You'll have to rebuild it afterward. Good news is, cities without any buildings are safe from earthquakes too.

Massive fire: Fires can also torch your hard-earned buildings. The trick to avoiding this is to build an aqueduct in your city. And yup, cities with no buildings are safe from fires as well.

Plague: This disaster hits your city's population, usually affecting cities smaller than level 10. It's often not a huge deal, but you can prevent it entirely by building an aqueduct.

Flooding: When flooding hits, your city loses population, basically taking a step back in growth. Having city walls can help prevent this, but honestly, cities usually grow back pretty fast, and flooding isn't that common.

Famine: This is worse than flooding, making your city lose even more population. You can avoid famine by building a granary. Keep in mind, on Emperor difficulty, famine will wipe out a whopping 1/3 of your city's population!

Quick Tip: Notice a pattern? Many disasters can be prevented by building specific structures in your cities. Prioritize building barracks, temples, aqueducts, and granaries in your key cities to avoid these setbacks!