What Makes a Crisis Different from an Incident or Emergency?
One of the most critical challenges organisations face in crisis management is knowing when to escalate an event. Not all disruptions are crises, but without clear activation thresholds, teams may either:
🔴 Underreact – Failing to recognise a crisis early enough, leading to worsening impacts, lost response time and reputational damage.
🔴 Overreact – Escalating too quickly, leading to unnecessary resource deployment, crisis fatigue and stakeholder panic.
This article explains the key differences between incidents, emergencies and crises, how organisations can set clear crisis activation thresholds and the importance of a structured escalation framework.
1️⃣ What is an Incident?
An incident is a routine operational disruption that is contained and does not significantly impact business continuity, reputation or finances. Incidents can be disruptive but are typically low to moderate in severity and resolved using standard procedures.
Characteristics of an Incident:
Limited impact on business continuity, reputation or operations.
Does not require executive-level involvement.
Can be managed with pre-existing standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Examples of Incidents:
A minor IT system failure that causes a brief slowdown but does not disrupt key operations.
A shipment delay that causes inconvenience but does not critically impact supply chain performance.
A customer complaint that is handled through regular customer service protocols.
🔹 Bottom Line: Incidents are localised, manageable and do not require crisis escalation.
2️⃣ What is an Emergency?
An emergency is a sudden, life-threatening event that requires immediate action to prevent injury, death or severe property damage. Unlike incidents, emergencies require urgent response protocols and coordination with emergency services.
Characteristics of an Emergency:
Immediate danger to life, health or critical infrastructure.
Requires rapid decision-making and coordinated response.
Often mandated by safety laws and regulations (e.g. WHS, OSHA).
Examples of Emergencies:
Fire in a corporate office requiring evacuation.
Severe weather event causing structural damage.
Medical emergency requiring first aid and ambulance response.
🔹 Bottom Line: Emergencies require immediate action to protect life and safety but may not always escalate into a crisis.
3️⃣ What is a Crisis?
A crisis is a high-impact, high-uncertainty event that threatens business operations, reputation, financial stability or long-term viability. Unlike incidents and emergencies, crises often require strategic leadership, public communication and long-term recovery planning.
Characteristics of a Crisis:
Disrupts operations at a strategic level, often requiring executive intervention.
Can lead to financial, reputational or legal consequences.
Involves complex decision-making under uncertainty.
Often requires external communication with stakeholders, media and regulators.
Examples of Crises:
A cyberattack exposes customer data, causing reputational and legal fallout.
A major product recall impacts brand trust and financial stability.
Negative media coverage sparks public outrage, leading to investor or customer loss.
🔹 Bottom Line: Crises require strategic leadership, cross-functional coordination and long-term recovery planning beyond the immediate response.
4️⃣ How to Define Crisis Activation Thresholds
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is failing to establish clear criteria for when an incident or emergency escalates into a crisis. Without predefined crisis activation thresholds, response teams risk making reactive, inconsistent decisions instead of structured, strategic responses.
Key Factors in Setting Crisis Activation Thresholds:
Organisations should establish objective criteria for when a crisis should be activated, such as:
✅ Business Disruption Impact – Does the event threaten the continuity of operations, revenue or supply chains?
✅ Reputation and Public Perception – Is there significant media attention, social media backlash or public scrutiny?
✅ Legal and Regulatory Consequences – Could the event lead to lawsuits, fines or compliance failures?
✅ Escalation Beyond Control – Has the situation outgrown the ability of standard teams to manage it effectively?
✅ Stakeholder Trust and Confidence – Could this event undermine investor, customer or employee trust?
Example:
A cybersecurity breach affecting only internal systems may be classified as an incident.
If customer data is compromised and requires regulatory reporting, it escalates to a crisis and triggers executive-level response.
Tip: Organisations should develop Crisis Decision Matrices or Thresholds that outline specific scenarios, response levels, and when to escalate to the Crisis Response Team (CRT) or Crisis Management Team (CMT).
5️⃣ The Role of the Crisis Response Team (CRT) or Crisis Management Team (CMT)
Once an event crosses the crisis activation threshold, the Crisis Team must be immediately mobilised.
Activation Process:
1️⃣ Event Escalation – The incident/emergency is assessed against predefined crisis activation thresholds.
2️⃣ Crisis Declaration – If it meets the threshold, leadership officially activates the crisis team.
3️⃣ Crisis Coordination – Response efforts transition from operational management to strategic decision-making.
4️⃣ Stakeholder Communication – The crisis team ensures consistent messaging across employees, media and regulatory bodies.
5️⃣ Recovery and Business Continuity – Plans are executed to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
📌 Key Takeaway: Not all events require full crisis activation—having clear escalation criteria ensures the right response at the right time.
6️⃣ How Incidents, Emergencies and Crises Intersect
Organisations often experience a chain reaction where an incident escalates into an emergency, which can then trigger a full-blown crisis.
Example Scenario:
Incident: A minor IT security vulnerability is detected but not addressed.
Emergency: The vulnerability is exploited, causing a ransomware attack that locks critical business systems.
Crisis: The company cannot process transactions for days, damaging customer trust, attracting regulatory scrutiny and causing financial losses.
Key Takeaway: Recognising early warning signs and activating crisis response at the right time prevents small disruptions from turning into major crises.
Final Thoughts: Be Ready for All Three
🔹 Incidents are minor disruptions that can be resolved through routine procedures.
🔹 Emergencies require immediate action to protect life and property.
🔹 Crises require strategic decision-making, public communication and long-term recovery.
🔹The key to success is setting clear activation thresholds so that the crisis team knows when to step in.
🔹A well-prepared organisation recognizes these differences and has a clear response plan for each.