Disaster

Mars is a harsh environment and human life is only made possible due to incredibly durable structures - designed specifically to resist it. Every now and the however, extremes will appear that will test the resilience of the colony on a much higher level. Sensor Towers and RC Seekers extend any advanced warnings for disasters.

Disasters range in likelihood depending on the colony coordinates. They can also be eliminated completely via the No Disasters Game Rule or increased to maximum all across Mars by their respective Game Rules. Alternatively their effects can be lessened by the Easy Maintenance Rule.

Disasters lower the Sanity of all Colonists, particularly if their Dome does not have a Security Station.

In Green Planet terraforming can slowly reduce and eventually eliminate the Martian disasters but also create new ones.

Disaster	Effects	Protection	Green Planet elimination threshold	DLC
Cold Wave	Domes and exterior buildings use 100% more power Drones use 40% more power Water Towers and Water Tanks freeze Exterior buildings that are unpowered or unused will slowly freeze Frozen buildings break down and maintenance can only be given once thawed Cold Waves can start certain Story Bits	The Melt the Polar Caps Special Projest will end current Cold Waves The following buildings cancel the effects of cold waves around them: Subsurface Heaters Artificial Sun Mohole Mine Advanced Stirling Generators (only when open) Core Heat Convector	50% Temperature Terraforming	None
Dust Devil	Every exterior building and drone touched has its maintenance bar filled Every rover nearby gets its speed reduced by 60%	Dust Devils come in two sizes but disappear relatively quickly	50% Atmosphere Terraforming	None
Dust Storm	Increased dust accumulation on all buildings and drones Many buildings stop functioning Rockets cannot land or take off Wind Turbines produce more power Pipes and Power Cables can suffer leaks Dust Storms can start certain Story Bits Electrostatic Dust Storms are rare Dust Storms with lightning strikes Struck buildings will be shut down for a time Struck drones have their battery is drained Struck Fuel Refineries and Storages lose all Fuel Struck Universal Depots lose all resources Struck Power Accumulators or Atomic Accumulators lose 100 Power	Superior Cables Breakthrough prevents Power Cables leaks Superior Pipes Breakthrough prevents Pipes leaks Pods can still land for emergency resupply if needed The Doctor Commander Profile can avoid the Dust Sickness Story Bit	50% Atmosphere Terraforming	None
Meteors	Hit Domes receive a fracture Hit exterior buildings have the maintenance bar filled Hit Passages have the colonists in the impact area die Hit Fuel Refinery and storage building lose all stored Fuel Hit RC vehicles require Drones to repair them Hit Drones, Pipes and Power Cables are destroyed Rarely meteor impacts can create Anomalies, Metals or Polymers	An impact mark will appear where a meteor impacts An area can be protected against meteors by the following: MDS Lasers Defense Turrets Repaired EsoCorp Rovers	50% Atmosphere Terraforming	None
Marsquake	Buildings have their maintenance bar filled	Not using the Capture Ice Asteroids Special Project Keeping Magnetic Field Generators away from the colony More Magnetic Field Generators cause more severe Marsquakes	Man-made Disaster	Green Planet
Toxic Rain	Lowered Soil Quality up to -25% Vegetation withers, especially lichens Forestation Plants and Open Farms stop functioning Toxic Pools appear on the ground	Not using the Import Greenhouse Gasses Special Project Drones can clean Toxic Pools	55% Atmosphere 55% Temperature 5% Water	Green Planet

Game concepts