civil emergency
Community-wide urgent situation
A civil emergency is a serious disruption to public safety or normal functioning—natural disasters, infrastructure failures, civil unrest, or public health crises.
Governments declare civil emergencies to activate special powers and resources: The governor declared a civil emergency after the flooding.
The designation typically suspends normal procedures and authorizes emergency responses.
- disasterSudden ruinous event
- evacuationRemoval from danger
- evacuation orderCommand to vacate area
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
- martial lawArmed forces governance
curfew · sirens · shelter · shelter in place · lockdown · flood · hurricane · blackout · power outage · rescue · search and rescue · FEMA · sandbags · warning · broadcast · checkpoint · national guard · relief
- public alertswireless alert, text alert, terror alert, APB, BOLO
- alert levelsDEFCON, red alert, orange alert, yellow alert, elevated
civil emergencynormalcy
State of being typical
peacetime · civil order · public safety · stability · everyday life
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