disaster acronyms & definitions
- AAHA: American Animal Hospital Association
- ACO: Animal Control Officer
- ACP: Access Control Point
- ADC: Animal Disaster Committee
- ADPAC: Animal Disaster Planning Advisory Committee
- AED: Automated External Defibrillator
- AERO: Animal Emergency Response Organization (USDA)
- ALERT: Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time
- ANAD: Anniston Army Depot
- ANS: Alert and Notification System
- APG: Aberdeen Proving Ground
- APHIS: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA)
- APPMA: American Pet Products Manufacturing Association
- AR: Animal Response
- ARC: American Red Cross
- ARDA: American Rescue Dog Association
- ARES: American Radio Emergency Service
- AVMA: American Veterinary Medical Association
- AVMF: American Veterinary Medical Foundation
- BGAD: Blue Grass Army Depot
- CAP: Civil Air Patrol
- CART: County Animal Response Team
- CB: Citizens Band
- CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- CEM: Certified Emergency Manager
- CEO: Chief Executive Official
- CERCLA: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
- CERT: Community Emergency Response Team
- CFR: Code of Federal Regulations
- CHEMTREC: Chemical Manufacturers' Association
Chemical Transportation Emergency Center
- COAD: County Organizations Active in Disaster
- CPG: Civil Preparedness Guide
- CPR: Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation
- CSEPP: Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
- DART: Disaster Animal Response Team
- DAT: Disaster Action Team (American Red Cross)
- DFO: Disaster Field Office
- DMAT: Disaster Medical Assistance Team
- DOD: U.S. Department of Defense
- DOE: U.S. Department of Energy
- DOT: U.S. Department of Transportation
- DRC: Disaster Recovery Center
- DWI: Disaster Welfare Information
- EAS: Emergency Alert System
- ECL: Emergency Classification Level
- EMA: Emergency Management Agency
- EMAC: Emergency Management Assistance Compact
- EMI: Emergency Management Institute
- EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse
- EMS: Emergency Medical Services
- EOC: Emergency Operating Center
- EOP: Emergency Operations Plan
- EPA: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- EPCRA: Emergency Planning/Community Right-to-Know
Act
- EPG: Emergency Planning Guide
- EPI: Emergency Public Information
- EPZ: Emergency Planning Zone
- ERT: Emergency Response Team
- ERT-A: Emergency Response Team Advance Element
- ERT-N: Emergency Response Team National
- ESF: Emergency Support Function: An aspect of a disaster or emergency response assigned to a particular agency for management. The National Response Plan (NPR) organizes tasks by ESF. (ESF #11 includes the animal response).
ESF #1 - Transportation
ESF #2 - Communications
ESF #3 - Public Works and Engineering
ESF #4 - Firefighting
ESF #5 - Emergency Management
ESF #6 - Mass Care, Housing, and Human Services
ESF #7 - Resource Support
ESF #8 - Public Health and Medical Service
ESF #9 - Urban Search and Rescue
ESF #10 - Oil and Hazardous Materials Response
ESF #11 - Agriculture and Natural Resources
ESF #12 - Energy
ESF #13 - Public Safety and Security
ESF #14 - Long-Term Community Recovery and Mitigation
ESF #15 - External Affairs
- EST: Emergency Support Team
- FAsT: Field Assessment Team
- FCO: Federal Coordinating Officer
- FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
- FHBM: Flood Hazard Boundary Map
- FIA: Federal Insurance Administration
- FIRM: Flood Insurance Rate Map
- FIS: Flood Insurance Study
- FOG: Field Operations Guide
- FPEIS: Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
- FRERP: Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan
- FRP: Federal Response Plan
- GAR: Governor's Authorized Representative
- GIS: Geographic Information System
- GPS: Global Positioning System
- HAZMAT: Hazardous Material
- HHS: US Department of Health and Human Services
- HRCQ: Highway Route Controlled Quantity
- HSUS: Humane Society of the United States
- IAEM: International Association of Emergency Managers
- IAP: Incident Action Plan
- IC: Incident Commander
- ICP: Incident Command Post
- ICS: Incident Command System
- IMS: Incident Management System (Incident Command System)
- IRZ: Immediate Response Zone
- IS: Independent Study (through FEMA)
- JIC: Joint Information Center
- JIS: Joint Information System
- JNACC: Joint Nuclear Accident Coordinating Center
- LAR: Large Animal Rescue
- LEPC: Local Emergency Planning Committee
- MOU: Memorandum of Understanding
- MPH: Miles Per Hour
- MSDS: Material Safety Data Sheet
- NAAP: Newport Army Ammunition Plant
- NACA: National Animal Control Association
- NAHEMS: Nat'l Animal Health Emergency Management
System
- NARSC: National Animal Rescue and Shelter Coalition
- NASAR: National Association for Search and Rescue
- NCAD: National Conference on Animals in Disaster
- NCP: National Oil & Hazardous Substances Pollution
Contingency Plan
- NDA: National Defense Area
- N-DART: National Disaster Animal Response Team
- NDMS: National Disaster Medical System
- NEMA: National Emergency Management Association
- NFA: National Fire Academy
- NFIP: National Flood Insurance Program
- NFPA: National Fire Protection Association
- NGO: Non-Government Organization
- NIFC: National Interagency Fire Center
- NIMS: National Incident Management System
- NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Nat'l Response
Center
- NRP: National Response Plan (was Federal Response
Plan)
- NRT: National Response Team
- NUREG: Nuclear Regulation
- NVOAD: National Voluntary Organizations Active in
Disaster
- NWS: National Weather Service
- OPA: Oil Pollution Act
- OSC: On-Scene Coordinator
- OSHA: U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- PA: Public Address
- PAZ: Protective Action Zone
- PBA: Pine Bluff Arsenal
- PDA: Preliminary Damage Assessment
- PIO: Public Information Officer
- PL: Public Law
- PPA: Performance Partnership Agreement
- PUDA: Pueblo Depot Activity
- PZ: Precautionary Zone
- RACES: Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
- RAP: Radiological Assistance Program
- REACT: Radio Emergency Associated Communication
Team
- REP: Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program
- ROC: Regional Operating Center
- ROD: Record of Decision
- RRP: Regional Response Plan
- SAME: Specific Area Message Encoder
- SARA: Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
- SART: State Animal (or Agricultural) Response Team
- SCO: State Coordinating Officer
- SEMA: State Emergency Management Agency
- SEOC: State Emergency Operations Center
- SERC: State Emergency Response Commission
- SLG: State and Local Guide
- SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
- SORT: Special Operations Response Team
- SOU: Statement of Understanding
- SPCA: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- TAR: Technical Animal Rescue
- TEAD: Tooele Army Depot
- UMDA: Umatilla Depot Activity
- USDA: U.S. Department of Agriculture
- USGS: U.S. Geological Survey
- USAR: Urban Search and Rescue
- VMAT: Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams
- VOAD: Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
- WMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction
- (Warfare Agents) CBRNE: Chemical, Biological,
Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive – warfare agents
USEFUL DISASTER TERMINOLOGY
AFTERSHOCKS: Lesser tremors which occur after an initial earthquake. These tremors can begin within minutes, hours, or days of initial shock, depending on severity of the quake.
BLIZZARD: An intense, severe snowstorm with sustained freezing winds of 35 miles per hour or more.
COASTAL FLOOD: Flooding in low-lying coastal areas from tropical or winter storms, combined with effects of tides, waves and wind. May cause extensive erosion and property damage. Flooding can occur even if storm is not a direct threat to affected area. Coastal residents should consult storm surge maps to determine risk to their property.
CYCLONES: Violent tropical storms located in the southern hemisphere, with winds rotating in a clockwise direction and reaching a sustained speed of 74 mph or more near its center.
DISASTER: Any natural, technological, or civil event that causes injuries, deaths or property damage of sufficient magnitude to disrupt essential functions and services (i.e., water supply, electrical power, sanitation systems, roads, communication and hospitals) of a community. Smaller events may also be classified as disasters.
EMERGENCY: An event that causes injury or property damage beyond capability of victim(s) to handle without aid.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Process of preparing for, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from an emergency or disaster.
EPICENTER: Location on the earth's surface directly above an earthquake's first tremor (focus).
EYE (of a hurricane): Relatively calm area at center of the storm where winds are light and the sky may be clear. Intense storm conditions may be experienced 12 hours or longer before the eye actually makes landfall. When the eye passes, the winds come in the opposite direction.
FAULT/FAULT LINE: A fracture in the earth's crust accompanied by displacement of the two sides of the fracture.
FLASH FLOOD: Flood with almost no onset time. Swift waters pose significant threat to lives and property due to inability to mitigate or evacuate. Generally from heavy rainfall, dam or levee failures.
FUJITA-PEARSON SCALE: A categorical method which indicates the intensity (wind-speed) of a tornado:
F0: Gale tornado — 40-72 mph
F1: Moderate tornado — 73-112 mph
F2: Significant tornado — 113-157 mph
F3: Severe tornado — 158-206 mph
F4:Devastating tornado — 207-260 mph
F5:Incredible tornado — 261-318 mph
F6:Inconceivable tornado — 319-379 mph
GALE: Winds with sustained speeds of 39 - 73 mph.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS: Any substance that has potential to cause damage to environment or population if released. Substances are usually identified as either flammable or combustible, explosive, toxic, noxious, corrosive, oxidizable, irritants or radioactive.
HURRICANE: Violent tropical storm located in the northern hemisphere, with winds rotating counter-clockwise and reaching a sustained speed of 74 miles per hour or more near its center. Size of storm can range from 50 to 1000 miles in diameter and may be accompanied by coastal storm surge and inland flooding, heavy rains, severe lightning, tornadoes. See Saffir-Simpson Scale.
INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM: System to organize and coordinate the field response to an emergency or disaster.
MITIGATION: Process of planning and preparation for disaster prevention
or minimizing severity of its impact.
PREPAREDNESS: Activities to enhance abilities of people, communities, and businesses to better respond to a disaster.
PRIMARY AGENCY: Agency or organization assigned primary responsibility to manage and coordinate a specific ESF. Primary agencies are designated on basis of resources, capabilities or expertise. They are responsible for overall planning and coordination with their support agencies and other ESFs.
RECOVERY: Activities associated with orderly restoration and rehabilitation of persons and property affected by disasters.
RESPONSE: Activities during and after a disaster that use all systems, plans and resources necessary to preserve health, safety and welfare of victims and property affected by disaster, with emphasis on emergency needs and essential community services.
RICHTER SCALE: An exponential scale used to measure the magnitude of an earthquake. (Because of the logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude.)
Less than 2.0/Micro: Micro earthquakes, not felt.
2.0-2.9/Very minor: Generally not felt, but recorded.
3.0-3.9/Minor: Often felt, but rarely causes damage.
4.0-4.9/Light: Indoor items shake, rattling noise. Like passing truck.
5.0-5.9/Moderate: Major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions; slight damage to well-designed buildings.
6.0-6.9/Strong: Destructive in populated areas up to 100 miles wide.
7.0-7.9/Major: Serious damage over larger areas.
8.0-8.9/Great: Serious damage in areas several 100 miles across.
9.0+/Rare Great: Devastating in areas several 1000 miles across.
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE: Categorical method that indicates intensity (wind-speed) of a hurricane.
Category 1: Winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt or 119-153 km/hr)
Category 2: Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr)
Category 3: Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr)
Category 4: Winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt or 210-249 km/hr)
Category 5: Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr)
SEVERE WEATHER: Strong thunderstorms, frequent lightning, high wind gusts and heavy rainfall, tied with an identified weather system.
SEVERE WINTER STORMS: Heavy snow, ice, freezing rain, and winds with sustained speeds of less than 35 mph.
SQUALL/SQUALL LINE: Strong winds tied with thunderstorms that sustain peak speeds over period of two or more minutes, then decrease rapidly. Squall lines may precede intense storms.
STORM SURGE: A dome of water forced onto shore in advance of approaching intense storm. Combined with wind-driven wave action, a storm surge can be deadly and cause extensive property damage. Storm surges at high tide are of particular concern. Residents in surge areas should evacuate immediately when advised to do so.
SUPPORT AGENCY: Organization or agency designated to assist primary agency with available resources, capabilities, or expertise to accomplish mission of the ESF response and recovery operations under coordination of primary agency.
TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARD: A range of hazards emanating from manufacture, transportation, and use of hazardous materials, such as radioactive substances, chemicals explosives, flammables; pesticides, herbicides and disease agents; oil spills on land, coastal waters on inland water systems; and debris from space.
TORNADO: Violent, whirling windstorm that can reach 300 mph or more. Identified by a funnel-shaped cloud that progresses in a narrow path over land. A waterspout is a tornado that occurs over water.
TROPICAL STORM: A storm with sustained winds of 39 to 73 miles per hour. If winds increase to 74 mph, storm is classified as hurricane.
TSUNAMI: An ocean wave produced by a sub-marine earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. These waves may reach enormous dimensions and have sufficient energy to travel across entire oceans.
TYPHOON: The term used for hurricanes east of the International Date Line (i.e., the western Pacific).
WEATHER ADVISORY: A regularly scheduled public news release issued by the National Weather Service providing details on a continuing weather event. Details include location, intensity, direction, and speed of movement of the event.
WARNING: Public news release issued by National Weather Service for a severe weather event underway or imminent (24 hours or less) in specified area. Of utmost importance to take precautionary measures and actions immediately for protection of life and property.
WATCH: National Weather Service public news release that advises conditions are present for possible development of a severe weather condition within specified area. Preliminary disaster preparations should begin immediately and television, radio, and/or weather alert radio should be monitored for additional information and updates.
SOURCE:
FEMA SLG 101: Guide, All-Hazard Emergency Operations
and
NDART Library
