CM13.1-5 | Disaster Management — Glossary

A structured post-event debrief examining what was planned, what happened, why differences occurred, and what should change — the primary mechanism for learning from disasters.

A muscarinic antagonist that is the primary antidote for organophosphate (cholinesterase inhibitor) poisoning; administered in large, titrated doses until secretions dry and bronchospasm resolves.

START triage category for casualties who are deceased or so severely injured that survival is unlikely with available resources; receive palliative care only during an MCI.

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear — classification of hazardous agents used in man-made disaster categorization and specialized response training.

The clinical syndrome of acetylcholine excess caused by cholinesterase inhibition (organophosphate or carbamate poisoning): salivation, lacrimation, urination, defaecation, gastrointestinal cramps, emesis (SLUDGE) plus bronchospasm and miosis.

Disability-Adjusted Life Year — a measure of disease burden combining years of life lost to premature death and years lived with disability; used to quantify the full health impact of disasters.

District Disaster Management Authority — district-level operational body chaired by the District Collector, responsible for district plans, preparedness drills, and coordinating disaster response.

The process of removing hazardous substances (chemical, biological, radiological) from casualties, responders, and equipment; must occur in the warm zone before contaminated casualties enter the medical treatment (cold zone) area.

A serious disruption of community functioning that exceeds local coping capacity, resulting in human, material, economic, or environmental losses requiring external assistance.

A closed-loop four-phase framework — mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery — representing the continuum of actions before, during, and after a disaster.

The first 24–72 hours after disaster onset, during which rapid response has the greatest impact on saving lives; the period of highest search-and-rescue effectiveness.

START triage category for the walking wounded — ambulatory casualties who can self-evacuate; treated after RED and YELLOW.

The three-zone decontamination area established at chemical/radiological incidents: hot zone (contaminated — restricted access); warm zone (decontamination corridor); cold zone (clean medical treatment area).

A standardised scalable management structure for disaster response, establishing a unified command hierarchy with functional sections (Operations, Planning, Logistics, Finance) to coordinate multi-agency response.

An event in which the number or severity of casualties exceeds the immediate capacity of local medical resources to provide standard-of-care treatment to all simultaneously.

Actions taken before a disaster to reduce its likelihood or severity; includes structural measures (building codes, embankments) and non-structural measures (land-use zoning, early warning systems).

National Disaster Management Authority — India's apex statutory disaster management body established under the DM Act 2005, chaired by the Prime Minister.

National Disaster Response Force — 12 battalions of specially trained paramilitary personnel deployed for search and rescue, medical first response, and CBRN operations during disasters.

Assigning a higher triage category than warranted — the safer triage error, as it wastes resources but does not directly harm the overtriaged casualty.

An oxime that reactivates inhibited cholinesterase in organophosphate poisoning; effective only if given before the organophosphate-enzyme complex undergoes ageing; adjunctive to atropine.

Actions taken before a disaster to build response capacity; includes contingency planning, resource stockpiling, training, and mock drills.

Post-disaster actions to restore community functioning; includes short-term rehabilitation and long-term reconstruction, ideally building back better.

START triage category indicating life-threatening, salvageable injury; assigned when respiratory rate > 30/min, capillary refill > 2 seconds, or patient cannot follow simple commands (any one criterion met).

Immediate actions during and immediately after a disaster: search and rescue, triage, evacuation, emergency medical care, and relief distribution.

Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation — a structured communication format used by medical personnel to relay information to the Incident Commander during disaster response.

State Disaster Management Authority — state-level body under the DM Act 2005, chaired by the Chief Minister, responsible for the state disaster management plan.

Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment — a triage algorithm using three physiological parameters (respiratory rate, capillary refill/radial pulse, ability to follow commands) to rapidly assign one of four priority categories (RED/YELLOW/GREEN/BLACK) to each casualty in approximately 30–60 seconds.

Assigning a lower triage category than warranted — the dangerous triage error, as it delays life-saving care for a salvageable casualty.

The characteristics and circumstances of a community or system that make it susceptible to damage from a hazard; includes poverty, poor infrastructure, and lack of preparedness.

START triage category indicating serious but not immediately life-threatening injury; all three physiological parameters within normal limits; can safely wait 30–60 minutes for treatment.