civil defense

noun

1. plans or activities organized by civilians and civilian authorities for the protection of civilian population and property in times of such disasters or emergencies as war or floods.

Word History and Origins

Origin of civil defense¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Summoned to the scene, the new police and civil defense officials who took over during the transition had fished out the bodies, which were then sent to Damascus for a forensic analysis.

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A civil defense official in Las Vegas, Nevada, recommended the formation of a five-thousand-man militia—not to fight Russians, but to beat back Californians who might arrive once the bombs began to fall.

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"It requires surveys to discover and track NEOs, campaigns to characterize those that are hazardous, modeling efforts to understand and predict impact effects and associated consequences, and mitigation through impact avoidance and/or civil defense."

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According to Laura Velazquez, the head of Mexico's civil defense authority, the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo and Puebla were hardest hit by flooding brought on by days of heavy rains.

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Roughly 10 minutes later, as a live broadcast from a local news channel zoomed in on civil defense workers sifting through the wreckage with journalists filming nearby, the second missile hit.

Read more on Los Angeles Times