Many types of disasters and emergencies can threaten public health, public safety, and cause damage to infrastructure and/or to the natural environment. When it comes to injury or illness, either can occur as a direct result of the incident or as a result of people trying to cope with the incident.
What is the difference between a disaster and an emergency?
An "Emergency" is an incident that does not exceed the resources (i.e., equipment, personnel, apparatus, supplies) available to respond safely and adequately. Some examples of "emergencies" include: car crashes, strokes, building fires etc.
A "Disaster" is an incident that exceeds the resources available to respond safely to an incident. Some examples of “disasters” include: earthquakes, winter storms, dam failures and more.
To learn more about different types of disasters that are relevant to the Inland Northwest, select on one of the icons below:
If you have questions or comments, please contact:
Sarah Nuss
Director of Emergency Management, City of Spokane
snuss@spokanecity.org
