Mitigation - Activities taken to reduce the severity or consequences of an emergency (NFPA 1600)

Preparedness - Activities, tasks, programs, and systems developed and implemented prior to an emergency that are used to support the prevention of, mitigation of, response to, and recovery from emergencies (NFPA 1600, 2007)

Response - Immediate and ongoing activities, tasks, programs, and systems to manage the effects of an incident that threatens life, property, operations, or the environment (NFPA 1600, 2007)

Recovery - Activities and programs designed to return conditions to a level that is acceptable to the entity (NFPA 1600, 2007)

Prevention - Activities to avoid an incident or to stop an emergency from occurring (NFPA 1600, 2007)