The following are definitions from the United States Department of Homeland Security Risk Lexicon, 2010 edition..
Is an action that stops an incident from happening. A cooking fire can be prevented by staying in the kitchen and practicing safe cooking.
Is an effort to reduce the impact or loss from an incident. A cooking fire can be mitigated by putting a lid on the pan to keep the fire from spreading.
Is a natural or man-made source or cause of harm or difficulty. An example of a potential hazard is improperly maintained or protected storage tanks. A hazard differs from a threat in that a threat is directed at an entity, asset, system, network or geographic area, while a hazard is not directed. A hazard can be actual or potential.
Is the potential for an unwanted outcome resulting from an incident, event or occurrence, as determined by its likelihood and the associated consequences. Occupants are at greater risk of dying in a house fire when smoke alarms are not installed or not working.
Is the ability of systems, infrastructures, government, business, communities, and individuals to resist, tolerate, absorb, recover from, prepare for, or adapt to an adverse occurrence that causes harm, destruction or loss. An example of resilience: The county was able to recover quickly from the disaster because of the resilience of governmental support systems.
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