The word for a serious situation that doesn't look it [closed]

Question

Is there a term or word for a very serious situation that doesn't look serious, like a situation that needs or should have been attended to as early as possible but wasn't, because it doesn't seems that serious

Answer 1

minefield (n.)

Figurative. A situation or subject presenting unseen hazards.
[OED online]

If you describe a situation as a minefield, you are emphasizing that there are a lot of hidden dangers or problems, and where people need to behave with care because things could easily go wrong.
Collins

A situation or subject that is very complicated and full of hidden problems and dangers:

A legal minefield
A minefield of ethical problems
Cambridge

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The journey from treachery to trust resembles a bumpy care ride in a minefield, fraught with hidden dangers.
B. Janet Hibbs and ‎Karen J. Getzen; Try to See it My Way (2009)

Alessandra, Bella's mother, was more subtle, of course, with a diploma in Reproach by Implication so that even the most innocuous topic of conversation could be come a minefield, hidden dangers lurking beneath every cautious tread.
Claire Calman; Love is a Four-Letter Word (2020)

Once everything wrapped up in Wales, the trio went over to Spain to check out the racecourse Simon had been telling them about. What he'd called a garden spot turned out to be a minefield. Sections of the course weren't even paved.
Jim Gourley; The Race Within (2015)

The English language and local customs turned out to be a minefield of difficulties. Lexical problems were numerous. I struggled with "weather," "wether," "whither," "whether," and "wither." In history class, instead of "slavery" one had to say, "involuntary servitude." In place of "Civil War," it was "the War between the States."
Peter Suedfeld; Light from the Ashes (2001)

Answer 2

Deceptively safe/calm.

"Like blue skies in Yemen" - comes from the observation that more bombings/drone strikes are carried out on clear days due to better visibility.

Powder keg.

Subcritical - more of a corporate term.

Hidden threat.

Trojan horse.

Answer 3

Such a state is sometimes referred to as a false peace. The expression may derive from a Bible verse (though it is a transparent metaphor) and is often used in Christian messages:

Jeremiah 6:14

• They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, 'Peace, peace' when there is no peace.

...

To be in a state of false peace is to be in a state of composure — not of indifference, but of composure and satisfaction, in a belief that all is well when all is not well.

                                                                                                                  [G. Fisk; Bible Hub]

An example from a non-Christian source:

... after the Cold War, a realistic background for the rise of democratic peace theory is that people have discovered that after World War II, especially during the Cold War, there are few wars between democratic countries. In fact, this is just a false peace caused by the Cold War. Studies have proved that even among the democracies during World War II, there were many wars ...                               Yuxuan Song: Is Democracy a Cause of Peace?]

though this is of course far more literal.

The only answer from the suggested duplicate that I feel fits well here is given by ScotM: 'a disaster in the making'                       (reference: Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms).

..................

The persons in such a dangerous position have a false sense of security.