Which term describes systems that can expand to support varying scales of incidents?

The term that describes systems capable of expanding to support varying scales of incidents is "scalable." Scalability is a critical characteristic in emergency management and disaster response, as it enables a system or solution to adapt to different sizes and complexities of incidents. For instance, during a minor incident, resources or personnel can be kept to a minimum, but as an incident grows in severity or complexity, additional resources can be drawn upon without requiring a complete overhaul of the system. This effectively ensures that whatever the scale of the incident, the response remains efficient and effective.

While flexibility refers to the ability to adapt to new conditions or requirements, which is important in emergency management, it does not specifically emphasize the aspect of expansion. Adjustable typically implies making changes within certain limits or parameters but does not specifically convey the ability to expand significantly as required. Modular systems can indeed support varying scales but are more about the use of interchangeable components rather than the overall capacity to scale up or down in response to incident needs. Therefore, "scalable" is the most appropriate term for this context.