The Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre

AFTERSHOCK: A smaller earthquake that follows the main shock and originates close to its focus. Aftershocks generally decrease in number and magnitude over time.

ALERT: Advisory that hazard is approaching but is less imminent than implied by warning message. See also "warning".

AREAL PRECIPITATION: The average amount of precipitation which has fallen over a specific area.

ASH FLOW: Pyroclastic flow including a liquid phase and a solid phase composed mainly of ashes from a volcanic eruption.

Assembly Area: General assembly area for wider briefings.

ASSESSMENT: Survey of a real or potential disaster to estimate the actual or expected damages and to make recommendations for prevention, preparedness and response.

AVALANCHE: The rapid and sudden sliding and flowage of masses of usually incoherent and unsorted mixtures of snow/ice/rock material.

CHEMICAL ACCIDENT: Accidental release occurring during the production, transportation or handling of hazardous chemical substances.

CONTRIBUTIONS IN KIND: Non-cash assistance in materials or services (rescue teams, tarpaulins, blankets, food, equipment etc) offered or provided in case of disaster.

CRISIS: for the purposes of this document, crisis situations refer to those that need the police and or specialized uniformed forces to take the lead in restoring order, such as bomb blast, bomb scare, hostage taking, riots, demonstrations and hijackings.

DAMAGE CLASSIFICATION: Evaluation and recording of damage to structures, facilities, or objects according to three (or more) categories:

DEBRIS FLOW: A high-density mud flow with abundant coarse-grained materials such as rocks, tree trunks, etc.

DEFORESTATION: The clearing or destruction of a previously forested area.

DESERTIFICATION: The processes by which an already arid area becomes even more barren, less capable of retaining vegetation, and progressing towards becoming a desert.

Disaster Impact Point: Area where disaster emergency has occurred, e.g, collapsed building/structure, road accident scene, etc

DISASTER MANAGEMENT: The body of policy and administrative decisions and operational activities which pertains the immediate response and beyond when disaster strikes.

DISASTER RESPONSE: A sum of decisions and actions taken during and after disaster, including immediate relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.

DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT: The systematic process of using administrative decisions, organisation, operational skills and capacities to implement policies, strategies and coping capacities of the society and communities to lessen the impacts of hazards and related environmental and technological disasters.

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION: The conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities to minimise vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse effects of

hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development.

DISASTER: A serious disruption to the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses that exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Disasters are often classified according to their speed of onset (sudden or slow). All disasters are manmade.

DISPLACED PERSON: Persons who, for different reasons or circumstances, have been compelled to leave their homes. They may or may not reside in their country of origin, but are not legally regarded as refugees.

DROUGHT: Period of deficiency of moisture in the soil such that there is inadequate water required for plants, animals and human beings.

EARTHQUAKE EPICENTRE: the point beneath the earth’s surface where earthquakes rupture starts and from which waves radiate.

EARTHQUAKE: A sudden break within the upper layers of the earth, sometimes breaking the surface, resulting in the vibration of the ground, which where strong enough will cause the collapse of buildings and destruction of life and property.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: A coordinated effort, involving local, state, and national government agencies as well as volunteer organizations and businesses to respond to an unprecedented situation that may end being a disaster if not well managed.

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (EOC): Officially designated facility for the direction and co-ordination or all activities during the response phase a disaster.

EMERGENCY: A sudden and usually unforeseen event that calls for immediate measures to minimize its adverse consequences to causing body injury, harm, death and disruption of normal activity.

Entry/Exit Points: Entry point is the area of getting in to the disaster emergency scene while the Exit point is the way out,

EVALUATION: Post disaster appraisal of all aspects of the disaster and its effects.

FALLOUT: The deposition of radioactive particles from the atmosphere arising from natural causes, nuclear bomb explosions and, induced radioactivity and atomic reactor accidents.

Family Centre: Point at which families get information and briefings about their loved ones.

FAMINE: A catastrophic food shortage affecting large numbers of people due to climatic, environmental and socio-economic reasons leading to massive deaths.

FLASH FLOOD: Flood of short duration with a relatively high peak discharge. Causes inundation, and because of its nature is difficult to forecast.

FLOOD CONTROL: The management of water resources through construction of dams, reservoirs, embankments, etc. to avoid floods.

FLOOD: Significant rise of water level in a stream, lake, reservoir or a coastal region.

HAZARD: A potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.

HEATWAVE: A long lasting period with extremely high surface temperature.

HME Point: Heavily Mechanical Equipment – Point for parking and storage of heavy equipment used in rescue operations.

IDPs: INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS: “Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or leave their homes or places of habitual residence, particulars as a result of, or in order to avoid effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-man made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border”.

Inner Cordon: The immediate area surrounding the disaster impact point

Joint Operation Centre/Operations Centre (LA) : Centre set up to facilitate the coordination of the rescue operation at the disaster emergency scene. May be facilitated or led by the Lead Agency to the response operation.

LANDSLIDE: In general, all varieties of slope movement, under the influence of gravity. More strictly refers to down-slope movement of rock and/or earth masses along one or several slide surfaces.

LAVA FLOW: Molten rock which flows down-slope from a volcanic vent, typically moving at between a few metres to several tens of kilometres per hour.

LEVEE (DYKE, EMBANKMENT, STOP BANK): Water-retaining earthwork used to confine stream flow within a specified area along the stream or to prevent flooding due to waves or tides.

LIFELINES: The public facilities and systems that provide basic life support services such as water, energy, sanitation, communications and transportation.

LIVELIHOODS: The daily activities that a person/family/community does to enable them get a living for their daily survival.

LOGISTICS: The range of operational activities concerned with supply, handling, transportation, and distribution of materials. Also applicable to the transportation of people.

MAGMA: The molten matter including liquid rock and gas under pressure which may emerge from a volcanic vent.

MAGNITUDE ("RICHTER SCALE"): An index of the seismic energy released by an earthquake (as contrasted to intensity that describes its effects at a particular place), expressed in terms of the motion that would be measured by a specific type of seismograph located 100 km from the epicentre of an earthquake.

MAIN SHOCK: The biggest of a particular sequence of earthquakes.

MALNUTRITION: A diseased state resulting from an absence or deficiency in the diet of one or more essential nutrients, either manifest or detectable by test. Malnutrition can also be due to an excess of the wrong food.

Middle Cordon: The middle area surrounding or next to the inner cordon.

MITIGATION: Structural and non-structural measures undertaken to limit the adverse effect of natural hazards, environmental degradation and technological hazards.

NON-STRUCTURAL FLOOD MITIGATION: System for reduction of the effects of floods using non-structural means, e.g. land-use planning (flood plain zoning), advance warning systems, flood insurance.

OIL SPILL: The contamination of a water or land area by oil.

Outer Cordon: The outermost part to the disaster scene.

POLLUTION: Degradation of one or more elements or aspects in the environment by noxious industrial, chemical or biological wastes, from debris of man-made products and from mismanagement of natural and environmental resources.

POTABLE WATER (DRINKING WATER): Water that satisfies health standards, with respect to its chemical and bacteriological composition, and is agreeable to drink.

PRECIPITATION GAUGE/PRECIPITATION GAGE: General term for any device that measures the amount of precipitation; principally a rain-gauge or snow-gauge.

PRECIPITATION INTENSITY (RAINFALL INTENSITY): Amount of precipitation collected in unit time interval.

PREPAREDNESS: Activities and measures taken in advance to ensure effective response to the impact of hazards, including the issuance of timely and effective early warnings and the temporary evacuation of people and property from threatened locations.

PREVENTION: Encompasses activities designed to provide permanent protection from disasters. It includes engineering and other physical protective measures, and also legislative measures controlling land use and urban planning.

PUBLIC AWARENESS: The process of informing the community as to the nature of the hazard and actions needed to save lives and property prior to and in the event of disaster.

RECONSTRUCTION: Actions taken to re-establish a community after a period of rehabilitation subsequent to a disaster. Actions would include construction of permanent housing, full restoration of all services, and complete resumption of the pre-disaster state.

REFUGEES: According to international legislation persons having a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion mostly outside the country of nationality and unable to return or avail himself of the protection of that country. Includes mass exodus of peoples for reasons of conflict and natural disasters moving outside their country of origin.

REHABILITATION: The operations and decisions taken after a disaster with a view to restoring a stricken community to its former living conditions, whilst encouraging and facilitating the necessary adjustments to the changes caused by the disaster.

RELIEF: Assistance and/or intervention during of after disaster to meet the life preservation and basic subsistence needs. It can be of emergency or protracted duration.

RELIEF: Assistance and/or intervention during or after disaster to meet the life preservation and basic subsistence needs. It can be of emergency or protracted duration.

REMOTE SENSING: The observation and/or study of an area, object or phenomenon from an aerial distance, frequently using data collected by satellite.

RESETTLEMENT: Actions necessary for the permanent settlement of persons dislocated or otherwise affected by a disaster to an area different from their last place of habitation.

RESILIENCE: The human (community) capacity and ability to face, resist, overcome, be strengthened by, and even be transformed by experiences of adversity such as disaster.

Response Support Centre: Centre that gives welfare support to the rescuers on the disaster scene. This is dictated by the type of disaster emergency.

RISK: The probability of harmful consequences or expected losses (deaths, injuries, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environment damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human-induced hazards and vulnerable conditions

SEARCH AND RESCUE: The process of locating and recovering disaster victims and the application of first aid and basic medical assistance as may be required.

SECONDARY HAZARDS: Those hazards that occur as a result of another hazard of disaster, i.e., fires or landslides following earthquakes, epidemics following famines, food shortages following drought or floods.

SHELTER: Physical protection requirements of disaster victims who no longer have access to normal habitation facilities. Immediate post-disaster needs are met by the use of tents. Alternatives may include polypropylene houses, plastic sheeting, geodesic domes, and other similar types of temporary housing.

SIMULATION EXERCISE (Drill): Decision making exercise and disaster drills within threatened communities in order to represent disaster situations to promote more effective coordination of response from relevant authorities and the population.

SITUATION REPORT (SITREP): A brief report that is published and updated periodically during a relief effort and which outlines the details of the emergency, the needs generated, and the responses undertaken by all donors as they become known.

STAPLE FOOD: A food that is regularly consumed in a country or community and from which a substantial proportion of the total calorie supply is obtained.

STARVATION: The state resulting from extreme privation of food or of drastic reduction in nutrient intake over a period of time leading to severe physiological, functional, behavioural, and morphological differences.

STOCKPILING: The process of prior identification, availability and storage of supplies likely to be needed for disaster response.

TREMOR: A shaking movement of the ground associated with an earthquake or explosion.

Triage: Place where casualties and victims are arranged in order of priority for emergency attention.

TSUNAMI: A series of large waves generated by sudden displacement of seawater (caused by earthquake, volcanic eruption or submarine landslide); capable of propagation over large distances and causing a destructive surge on reaching land.

VOLCANIC ERUPTION: The discharge (aerially explosive) of fragmentary ejector, lava and gases from a volcanic vent.

VOLUNTARY AGENCIES (OR VOLAG): Non-governmental agencies or organizations that exist in many countries throughout the world. Some possess personnel trained to assist when disaster strikes. Some volags have capabilities that extend from the local to national and international levels.

VULNERABILITY: Degree of loss (from 0 % to 100 %) resulting from a potentially damaging phenomenon. The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes that increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards

WARNING: Dissemination of message signaling imminent hazard which may include advice on protective measures. See also "alert”.