Disaster Glossaries
Standard and concise disaster terminology for all members of the disaster risk reduction and emergency management community enables professionals to collaborate effectively. Professionals need to be able to find and access different disaster-related glossaries as a step toward creating more uniform terminology, especially for use in international disaster research and publications. The list of glossaries below may be helpful in developing a scholarly consensus on such disaster and emergency terms.
- Chemicals and Toxic Substances
- Climate and Weather
- Disaster and Emergency Management
- Disaster Medicine
- Earthquakes
- Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction
- Environmental Terminology
- Humanitarian Relief
- Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism (includes microbes, pathogens and general biology glossaries)
- Mental Health
- Public Health
- Radiation
- Storms, Hurricanes, and Floods
- Tides, Currents, and Tsunamis
- Volcanoes
- Wildfires
MeSH Terms Used in Indexing Disaster-Related Journal Articles
All MeSH Terms
MeSH Terms NEW in 2010
MeSH Terms NEW in 2009
MeSH Terms NEW in 2008
Chemicals and Toxic Substances
- Chemical/Biological/Radiological Incident Handbook. Section G. Glossary of Chemical Terms
Central Intelligence Agency - Glossary of Terms
Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry - Glossary of Terms on Chemical Safety for Use in the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) Publications
International Labour Organization
Climate and Weather
- National Weather Service Glossary
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Disaster and Emergency Management
- Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities in the Provision of Disaster Mass Care, Housing, and Human Services. VII. Glossary of Terms
Federal Emergency Management Agency - Acronyms and Glossary of Terms
National Capital Region Homeland Security Program - CEDIM (Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology) – Glossary. Terms and Definitions of Risk Sciences
Universität Karlsruhe (TH) - Disaster Dictionary
Suburban Emergency Management Project - Emergency Response Safety and Health Database Glossary
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health - Glossary and Acronyms of Emergency Management Terms
Office of Emergency Management, Department of Energy - Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management (ICDRM) Emergency Management Glossary of Terms
George Washington University - Internationally Agreed Glossary of Basic Terms Related to Disaster Management (1991) [Also in Spanish and French]
UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs - Medical Surge Capacity and Capability Handbook. Appendix D: Glossary
Department of Health and Human Services - National Emergency Training Center (NETC) Thesaurus of All-Hazards Terms
Federal Emergency Management Agency - National Incident Management System (NIMS) Glossary of Key Terms
Federal Emergency Management Agency - National Incident Management System (NIMS) Resource Center – Glossary
Federal Emergency Management Agency - National Response Framework. Glossary/Acronyms
Federal Emergency Management Agency - Search & Rescue and Disaster Glossary and Acronyms
United States Search and Rescue Task Force - Vulnerability Assessment Techniques and Applications (VATA) Glossary
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - 2009 Emergency Management Program Guidebook. Chapter 13 – Supplemental Information. Glossary and Acronyms
Department of Veterans Affairs
Disaster Medicine
- Prehospital and Disaster Medicine: Disaster Terminology
University of Wisconsin
Earthquakes
- Earthquake Glossary of Terms
University of Utah Seismograph Stations - Earthquake Hazards Program – Visual Glossary
US Geological Survey - Glossary of Earthquake and Related Terminology
US Geological Survey
Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction
- Alphabetic List of MeSH Terms Used in Indexing Disaster-Related Journal Articles
National Library of Medicine - Components of Risk. A Comparative Glossary
United Nations University - Disaster Nomenclature – A Functional Impact Approach: The PICE System.
Koenig KL, Dinerman N, Kuehl AE - Glossary and Acronyms Used
Be Safe Net - Ready America Glossary
Department of Homeland Security - UNISDR Terminology on Disaster Risk Reduction [Also in multiple languages]
United Nations, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
Environmental Terminology
- Environmental Terminology and Discovery Service (ETDS) [Also in multiple languages]
European Environment Agency
Humanitarian Relief
- Glossary of Humanitarian Terms
ReliefWeb
Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism (includes microbes, pathogens and general biology glossaries)
- Chemical/Biological/Radiological Incident Handbook. Section H. Glossary of Biological Terms
Central Intelligence Agency - Flu.gov Glossary [Available in Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese]
Department of Health and Human Services - Microbes – Glossary of Terms
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Mental Health
- Developing Cultural Competence in Disaster Mental Health Programs: Guiding Principles and Recommendations. Appendix E: Glossary
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Public Health
- Preparedness Glossary
Yale School of Public Health
Radiation
- Chemical/Biological/Radiological Incident Handbook. Section I. Glossary of Radiological Terms
Central Intelligence Agency - Glossary of Radiological Terms
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - IAEA Safety Glossary: Terminology Used in Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection 2007 Edition
International Atomic Energy Agency - Radiation Event Medical Management (REMM) Dictionary of Radiological Terms
National Library of Medicine - Radiation Glossary
Environmental Protection Agency - Radiation Glossary of Terms
Harvard University - Radiation Terms and Definitions
Health Physics Society - U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Full-Text Glossary
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Storms, Hurricanes, and Floods
- Comprehensive Glossary of Weather Terms for Storm Spotters
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Glossary of Flood Terms
Association of [San Francisco] Bay Area Governments - Glossary of Flooding Terms
Flood Control District of Maricopa County, Arizona - Glossary of Frequently Used FEMA/NFIP Terms – Acronyms
Louisiana Sea Grant - Glossary of Hurricane Terms [Also in French]
Canadian Hurricane Centre, Environment Canada - Glossary of National Hurricane Center Terms
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Glossary of Tropical Cyclone Terms
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Water Science Glossary of Terms
U.S. Geological Survey
Tides, Currents, and Tsunamis
- Glossary of Some Terms Related to Rip Currents
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Tide and Current Glossary
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Tsunami Glossary
International Tsunami Information Center
Volcanoes
- Glossary of Volcano and Related Terminology
U.S. Geological Survey
Wildfires
- Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Glossary of Terms
Federal Emergency Management Agency - Fire and Wildfire Glossary
Virginia Department of Forestry - Glossary of Wildland Fire Terminology
National Wildfire Coordinating Group - Wildland Firefighting Glossary, Terms & Definitions
Penn Hills Wildland Crew, Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry Division of Forest Fire Protection