Disruption to an organization’s business can occur in varying degrees threatening its operations, staff, shareholder value, stakeholders, brand, reputation, trust and/or strategic/business goals.  The impact of a disruption, if not addressed in a timely manner, generally increases in severity over time.  The following terms describe the impact of disruption over time:

• An Incident
  is an event that occurs by chance or due to a combination of unforeseen circumstances, which, if not handled in an appropriate manner, can escalate into an emergency or disaster or crisis.
• An Emergency
  is a sudden, unexpected event requiring immediate action due to its impact to health and safety, the environment, property, violation of regulation or which can result in the organization being unable to provide critical business functions for some predetermined minimum period of time.
• A Disaster
  is a sudden, unplanned catastrophic event, usually causing great damage or loss, which makes an organization unable to provide critical business functions for some predetermined minimum period of time.
• A Crisis
  is a turning point or decisive moment in events. Typically, it is the moment from which an incident or emergency may go on to death or recovery. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'. It may impact an organization's profitability, reputation, or ability to operate. It may not be time dependent and usually does not deny access to facility and infrastructure.