National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) - A coordinated approach used to establish national priorities, goals and requirements to protect U.S. critical infrastructure and key resources.
National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) - A coordinated approach used to establish national priorities, goals and requirements to protect U.S. critical infrastructure and key resources.
National Preparedness Guidelines (NPG) - A document outlining the top priorities intended to synchronize pre-disaster planning, prevention and mitigation activities throughout the nation. It guides federal, state and local spending on equipment, training, planning and exercises, and provides an overarching vision, tools, and priorities to shape national preparedness.
National Response Framework (NRF) - A FEMA guide that outlines how the federal government organizes itself to respond to natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other catastrophic events, and also describes the importance of the whole community in assisting with response efforts.
National Weather Service (NWS) - An agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the purposes of protection, safety and general information. It is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) branch of the Department of Commerce and operates 122 weather offices in six regions that can be a useful tool for localities.
Natural Hazard - According to FEMA, “Hazard related to weather patterns and/or physical characteristics of an area. Often natural hazards occur repeatedly in the same geographical locations.”
Near Record Snowfall - According to FEMA, "A snowfall that approaches, but does not meet or exceed, the historical record snowfall within a county as published by the National Climatic Data Center. FEMA generally considers snowfall within 10 percent of the record amount to a near record snowfall."
NIMS - The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a set of standardized procedures that allow all responders -- government agencies, private sector organizations and NGOs -- to coordinate disaster planning, response and recovery actions to better focus on incident management during an event.
Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) - A not-for-profit organization, usually funded by donations, that is independent from state and federal governments. NGos and voluntary organizations, such as the American Red Cross and faith-based charities, play a major role in assisting localities after a disaster by providing relief services to sustain life, help individuals with disabilities, reduce physical and emotional distress and promote the recovery of disaster victims.
Nonstructural - Any portion of the building not connected to the main structure including file cabinets and furnishings.