Emergency management in the context of 2011 Super Outbreak

A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides - including submarine landslides, tropical cyclones, volcanic activity and wildfires. Additional natural hazards include blizzards, dust storms, firestorms, hails, ice storms, sinkholes, thunderstorms, tornadoes and tsunamis.

A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property. It typically causes economic damage. How bad the damage is depends on how well people are prepared for disasters and how strong the buildings, roads, and other structures are.

Mitigation is the reduction of something harmful that has occurred or the reduction of its harmful effects. It may refer to measures taken to reduce the harmful effects of hazards that remain in potentia, or to manage harmful incidents that have already occurred. It is a stage or component of emergency management and of risk management. The theory of mitigation is a frequently used element in criminal law and is often used by a judge to try cases such as murder, where a perpetrator is subject to varying degrees of responsibility as a result of one's actions.

The Great Fire of Rome (Latin: incendium magnum Romae) began on 19 July 64 AD. The fire started in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus. After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignited and burned for another three days. In the aftermath of the fire, nearly three quarters of Rome had been destroyed (10 out of 14 districts).

According to Tacitus and later Christian tradition, Emperor Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first persecution against the Christians. Other contemporary historians blamed Nero's incompetence but it is commonly agreed by historians nowadays that Rome was too densely populated and inadequately prepared to effectively deal with large scale disasters, including fires, and that such an event was inevitable.

Gifts in kind, also referred to as in-kind donations, is a kind of charitable giving in which, instead of giving money to buy needed goods and services, the goods and services themselves are given. Gifts in kind are distinguished from gifts of cash or not measured in monetary terms. Some types of gifts in kind are appropriate, but others are not. Examples of in-kind gifts include goods like food, clothing, medicines, furniture, office equipment, and building materials. Performance of services, providing office space or offering administrative support, may also be counted as in-kind gifts.

While many attest to the benefits of in-kind over cash gifts, others have argued for their disadvantages, particularly in the context of disaster relief.

Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. Civil-defense structures became widespread after authorities recognised the threats posed by nuclear weapons.

Since the end of the Cold War, the focus of civil defense has largely shifted from responding to military attack to dealing with emergencies and disasters in general. The new concept is characterised by a number of terms, each of which has its own specific shade of meaning, such as crisis management, emergency management, emergency preparedness, contingency planning, civil contingency, civil aid and civil protection.

A root cellar (American and Canadian English), fruit cellar (Mid-Western American English) or earth cellar (British English) is a structure, usually underground or partially underground, used for storage of vegetables, fruits, nuts, or other foods. Its name reflects the traditional focus on root crops stored in an underground cellar, which is still often true; but the scope is wider, as a wide variety of foods can be stored for weeks to months, depending on the crop and conditions, and the structure may not always be underground.

Root cellaring has been vitally important in various eras and places for winter food supply. Although present-day food distribution systems and refrigeration have rendered root cellars unnecessary for many people, they remain important for those who value self-sufficiency, whether by economic necessity or by choice and for personal satisfaction. Thus, they are popular among diverse audiences, including gardeners, organic farmers, DIY fans, homesteaders, anyone seeking some emergency preparedness (most extensively, preppers), subsistence farmers, and enthusiasts of local food, slow food, heirloom plants, and traditional culture.

The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (Korean: 대한민국 국군; Hanja: 大韓民國國軍; RR: Daehanminguk Gukgun; lit. Republic of Korea National Military), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of 3,600,000 in 2022 (500,000 active and 3,100,000 reserve).

The Republic of Korea Armed Forces traces its roots back to the establishment of the Korean Republic in 1919 wherein its armed wing was called the Korean Liberation Army and it conducted warfare against the Japanese occupation by conducting large-scale offensives, assassinations, bombings, sabotage, and search and rescue missions. Formally founded in 1948, following the establishment of the South Korean government after the liberation of Korea in 1945, South Korea's military forces are responsible for maintaining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state and also engage in peacekeeping operations, humanitarian and disaster relief efforts worldwide.

In current military use, combined operation is a operation conducted by forces of two or more allied nations acting together for the accomplishment of a common strategy, a strategic and operational and sometimes tactical cooperation. Interaction between units and formations of the land, naval and air forces, or the cooperation between military and civilian authorities in peacekeeping or disaster relief operations is known as joint operations or interoperability capability.

The National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) is a guide published by the US Government to promote effective disaster recovery in the United States, particularly for those incidents that are large-scale or catastrophic. The NDRF was released in September 2011 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The NDRF provides the overarching inter-agency coordination structure for the recovery phase for incidents covered by the Stafford Act. Elements of the NDRF can also be used for significant non-Stafford Act incidents. It serves as a companion document to the National Response Framework (NRF).

The Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (Norwegian: Nasjonalt kunnskapssenter om vold og traumatisk stress, NKVTS) is a research centre in Oslo, Norway, and Norway's national research institution in violence and sexual abuse; disaster management, terrorism, armed conflicts and traumatic stress; and forced migration and refugee health research. It is interdisciplinary and employs experts mainly in psychology, psychiatry, and the social sciences. In addition to carrying out research and related activities, the institute advises the Government of Norway in its areas of expertise and has some official emergency management functions at the national level. NKVTS has 101 employees.

NKVTS was established by the Government of Norway in 2004 through the merger of four research institutions, mainly at the University of Oslo, and was wholly owned by the University of Oslo until 2019 when ownership was transferred to the Norwegian Research Centre, itself owned by four universities. While organised as an independent limited company, it remains an affiliated institute of the University of Oslo and cooperates closely with the Department of Psychology and the Faculty of Medicine, where several of its research professors also hold professorial chairs. The centre was located at Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål 2004–2013, and is now located in Nydalen, Oslo.

An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency management, supervision of regional and local governments, conduct of elections, public administration and immigration (including passport issuance) matters. This position is head of a department that is often called an interior ministry, a ministry of internal affairs or a ministry of home affairs. In some jurisdictions, there is no department called an "interior ministry", but the relevant responsibilities are allocated to other departments.

An emergency operations center (EOC) is a central command and control "coordination structure" responsible for managing emergency response, emergency preparedness, emergency management, and disaster management functions at a strategic level during an emergency. Based on the organizational needs of the entity that has implemented the EOC, as well as the emergency being dealt with, the specific responsibilities and tasks executed by a given EOC may vary vastly and could include ensuring the continued operation of a municipality, company, public or emergency service, or other organization.

EOCs were originally created as part of United States civil defense and can be found in many nations, at all government levels, as well as in larger corporations that deal with large equipment or numbers of employees. In corporations and smaller jurisdictions, the EOC may be co-located in the same room as an emergency communications center.

Disaster medicine is the area of medical specialization serving the dual areas of providing health care to disaster survivors and providing medically related disaster preparation, disaster planning, disaster response and disaster recovery leadership throughout the disaster life cycle. Disaster medicine specialists provide insight, guidance and expertise on the principles and practice of medicine both in the disaster impact area and healthcare evacuation receiving facilities to emergency management professionals, hospitals, healthcare facilities, communities and governments. The disaster medicine specialist is the liaison between and partner to the medical contingency planner, the emergency management professional, the incident command system, government and policy makers.

Disaster medicine is unique among the medical specialties in that unlike all other areas of specialization, the disaster medicine specialist does not practice the full scope of the specialty everyday but only in emergencies. Indeed, the disaster medicine specialist hopes to never practice the full scope of skills required for board certification. However, like specialists in public health, environmental medicine and occupational medicine, disaster medicine specialists engage in the development and modification of public and private policy, legislation, disaster planning and disaster recovery. Within the United States of America, the specialty of disaster medicine fulfills the requirements set for by Homeland Security Presidential Directives (HSPD), the National Response Plan (NRP), the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the National Resource Typing System (NRTS) and the NIMS Implementation Plan for Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities.