- Natural Disasters. Tsunamis, hurricanes, and 5-scale earthquakes can all manage to become PR disasters, even though a specific person or company didn't cause them. However, these natural calamities leave their mark on public relations by affecting tourism and perhaps reflecting poorly on government, as was seen in the recent hurricane disasters of the southern United States;
- Business Practices. If company stakeholders are affected by an incident that resulted from a business practice, perhaps a bug being discovered in a can of soup, or a colony of mice setting up house in an airplane, a public relations disaster will most certainly ensue;
- Corporate Maneuvers. Public relations disasters can easily spring up when mergers, acquisitions, and stock IPO's are affecting corporations. Insider trading and corporate theft most certainly do nothing for public relations;
- Legal Issues. If the name of a company, organization, or prominent person appears in the same sentence as the word "court", the possibility of a public relations disaster is high. Libel, litigation, malpractice, crimes, even divorces are highly publicized by the media, usually with disastrous consequences;
- Gossip and Rumors. Celebrities are a favorite subject of rumor-mills. Companies and organizations of prominence are also frequent subjects of gossip. Whether or not the gossip is true or not may not matter; depending on what it is, or how convincing it sounds, a rumor can easily become a public relations disaster;
- Personnel or Staff. Whether a group of employees at a large corporation, or the staff of a franchise, personnel have the potential to wreak public relations havoc;
- Scandals. One of the most popular sources of public relations disasters, scandal is the media and public's fascination. Whether financial, sexual, drug-related, or political, scandals are the ultimate public relations disaster, tarnishing and jeopardizing reputations and companies.
After the sting of a surfaced public relations disaster, how does a public relations specialist address it? First, they don't make it worse.

Many a public relations specialist or publicist have attempted to salvage the reputation of their client by pointing fingers, throwing the blame on other parties, or simply replying "no comment". Unfortunately, such actions usually throw fuel on a public relations fire. Additionally, many public relations specialist do not even have a disaster plan in place, and may be the last ones to know about a PR disaster. All of these situations must be avoided by a public relations specialist.

A public relations specialist faced with the task of reclaiming his or her client's reputation, or reducing the affects of bad publicity, should keep consider these points:

- Have a plan. Public relations specialists or departments should always have a plan of action in the event of bad publicity. Preparing in advance for corporate maneuvers, holding "crises drills", and regularly preparing for the worst may not be fun, but it is necessary, and will help isolate any public relations weak spots;
- Be Honest. Honesty is, after all, the best policy, and offers a person or corporation the chance to set things right with the public. Being honest, but succinct, about a product defect or corporate scandal may help the public be more willing to forgive and forget;
- Be empathetic. A soup company responsible for serious illnesses as a result of tainted products isn't going to score many points with the public if their public relations statement says "At least it isn't costing you $2 million." A company or person that has made a damaging mistake needs to authoritatively shift the focus of a potentially expensive problem from themselves to the public that the mistake has, possibly seriously, affected;
- Have an executive address the problem. As long as a company executive is comfortable and effective on camera he or she will do well to address the mistakes their own company made. Such a public relation action can have a positive influence on the public and media if the problem is addressed sincerely and affectively. However, an executive that comes across as defensive, insincere, or just plain nervous, may not go over well with the public, even if the announcement itself is good;
- Don't say "no comment". This phrase can be perceived by many as an indication of guilt. There are moments when being quiet is the way to go, but "no comment", when uttered by a public relations specialist or client, can become damaging gossip fodder;

Keeping such points in mind, and preparing disaster plans, can help prepare a public relations specialist, and perhaps his or her client, for the possibly inevitable public relations disaster.