Emergency

According to the Sphere Project: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response (glossary) an emergency refers to “A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts that exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources and therefore requires urgent action. We use the word “disaster” to refer to natural disasters as well as to conflict, slow- and rapid-onset situations, rural and urban environments and complex political emergencies in all countries. The term thus covers natural and man-made disasters and conflicts and encompasses related terms such as “crisis” and “emergency.” For the purposes of this toolkit, emergencies and crisis are used interchangeably and crisis considerations are referred to throughout toolkit sections and tools.