famine, famines

Definition:

The term "famine" refers to an extreme lack of food throughout a country or region, usually due to not enough rain.

Food crops can fail from natural causes such as lack of rain, crop disease, or insects.
Food shortages can also be caused by people, such as enemies who detroy crops.
In the Bible, God often caused famine as a way to punish nations when they sinned against him.
In Amos 8:11 the term "famine" is used figuratively to refer to a time when God punished his people by not speaking to them. This could be translated with the word for "famine" in your language, or with a phrase such as "extreme lack" or "severe deprivation."