civil defense

Other forms: civil defenses

Preparing for and responding to major disasters like war, terrorism, hurricanes, or tornadoes is known as civil defense.

It's part of a government's job to protect citizens from possible catastrophes, whether that means an accident at a nuclear power plant, derailment of a train carrying hazardous equipment, or a major earthquake. Civil defense, from the Latin root civilis, "relating to a citizen," is all about defending civilians from disaster. In most countries, civil defense includes preventing, preparing for, and responding to catastrophic events.

Definitions of civil defense

1. noun

   activities organized by civilians for their own protection in time of war or disaster
   types:

   fire watching

   (during World War II in Britain) watching for fires started by bombs that dropped from the sky

   type of:

   protection

   the activity of protecting someone or something