DISASTER RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK 

75% Draft for San Diego, CA Workshop 

11 February 2015 

Glossary 

Glossary, Page 1 of 3 

Glossary 

List of Terms and Acronyms and their Definitions 

Term/Acronym Definition 

Building Clusters A set of buildings that serve a common function such as housing, healthcare, retail, etc. 

Building Disaster 

Resilience 

Ability of a single building to adapt, withstand and recover from a natural or technological 

disaster 

Building Resilience Ability of a single building to adapt, withstand and recover from a disruption 

Buildings Individual structures including the equipment and contents that house people and support social 

institutions 

Built Capital Any mechanism, building, or technology that helps the community function. The built 

environment is a subset. 

Built Environment All buildings and infrastructure systems. Also referred to as physical infrastructure 

Business Continuity Ability of a single business to maintain function 

Business Disaster 

Resilience 

Ability of a single business to adapt, withstand and recover from a natural or technological 

disaster 

Business Resilience Ability of a single business to adapt, withstand and recover from a disruption 

Communication and 

information Systems 

Equipment and systems that facilitate distant communication 

Community People who live, work, learn, and/or play together under the jurisdiction of a governance 

structure, such as a town, city, county, region, state, nation 

Community Disaster 

Resilience 

The ability of a community's social institutions to recover from a natural, technological or human 

caused disruption 

Community Leaders Elected officials, paid staff, non-government organizations, and volunteers 

Community Resilience The ability of a community's social institutions to recover from any disruption 

Community Social 

Institutions 

A complex, organized pattern of beliefs and behavior that meets basic individual and household 

needs 

Critical facilities Buildings that support functions that are needed during the short term phase after a hazard event. 

These are also referred to as essential buildings. 

Critical Infrastructure Assets, networks, systems and structures, whether physical or virtual, that support community 

social institutions so vitally that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect 

on security, national economic security, national public health or safety. 

Disaster Any hazard event that causes significant damage and/or loss of functionality 

Disaster Resilience The ability to adapt to, withstand, and recover from a natural, technological or human caused 

disruption 
DISASTER RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK 

75% Draft for San Diego, CA Workshop 

11 February 2015 

Glossary 

Glossary, Page 2 of 3 

Term/Acronym Definition 

Disruption The occurrence of a hazard event 

Element Resilience Ability of an individual element to adapt, withstand and recover from any disruption 

Emergency Responders Official and volunteer workers during the short term phase after the disaster 

Energy Systems Electric power, liquid fuel and natural gas generation and distribution 

Financial Capital Any economic resource measured in terms of money used by communities buy what they need to 

provide their services 

Function A specific action or activity performed to support a community's social institution. 

Functionality Able to continue to use the system or structure at possibly an impaired level. This is also referred 

to as serviceability. 

Governance Structures The organizational framework of the governing body of the community 

Hazard A situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or environment due to nature, 

technology, or human caused 

Hazard Event The occurrence of a hazard 

Hazard Intensity The quantification of the impact of a hazard 

Hazard Level The quantification of the size of a hazard 

Human Caused Disaster A hazard event caused by a deliberate action including a terrorist activity 

Infrastructure Physical networks, systems and structures that support community social institutions including 

transportation, energy, communications, and water and wastewater. 

Infrastructure Disaster 

Resilience 

Ability of the infrastructure to adapt, withstand, and recover from natural or technological disaster 

Infrastructure Resilience Ability of the infrastructure to adapt, withstand, and recover from a disruption 

Interdependencies Intersection of systems at points of dependence to continue full service 

Life Safety Alive, able to exit without assistance or remain in a stable environment 

Mitigation Improving the infrastructure by reconstruction, repair, or retrofit 

Natural Disaster A disaster that is rooted in nature 

Performance Goals Metrics that define the safety and usability of systems and structures in terms of occupant 

protection, cost of restoration and time allotted for repairs and return to function. 

Performance Levels Metrics that define the safety and usability of systems and structures. 

Recovery Strategies Actionable steps taken before the disaster to improve disaster resilience; includes recovery 

planning, land use planning, physical construction, retrofit reconstruction and education. 

Redirecting Softening or eliminating a hazard when possible by changing its path 
DISASTER RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK 

75% Draft for San Diego, CA Workshop 

11 February 2015 

Glossary 

Glossary, Page 3 of 3 

Term/Acronym Definition 

Redundancy Multiple systems or buildings that perform the same function 

Resilience The ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and withstand and recover rapidly 

from disruptions 

Resilience Construction 

Standards 

Codes and standards that include transparent performance expectations 

Retrofitting Improve the expected performance of existing infrastructure through reconstruction. This is also 

referred to as hardening. 

Robustness Sufficient strength to withstand the hazard without loss of function 

Shelter-in-place Able to safely remain in a residence with possible damage and impaired utility services 

Social Capital The links, shared values and understandings in society that enable individuals and groups to trust 

each other and so work together. 

Technological Disaster A human caused disaster due to an accident 

Transportation Systems Buildings, structures, and networks that move people and goods 

Vulnerable populations People who require special assistance during recovery 

Waste Water Systems Collection, treatment, and discharge of waste water 

Water Systems Collection, storage, purification, and distribution of water 

Workforce People who provide labor to one or more of the social institutions