DISASTER: A disaster is a natural or manmade event,
A. that significantly disrupts the environment of care (e.g., damage to program buildings and/or grounds due to severe wind storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, or earthquakes), or
B. that significantly disrupts care and treatment (e.g., loss of utilities due to floods, civil disturbances, accidents, or emergencies within the organization or in the surrounding community).

EMERGENCY: An emergency is an unexpected or sudden event, human-made or natural or in combination, that significantly disrupts an organization’s ability to provide care, treatment, or services, or disrupts an organization’s setting.