Homeland Security Advisory System

On March 12, 2002 the Department of Homeland Security issued an advisory system that aims to provide citizens and government agencies with information on when they are at the most risk of a terrorist attack. The alert system has been much publicized, but what does each increase or decrease in the system mean to the average person? There are 5 different color codes to represent the current alert status, each color represents a different threat level. These levels are:

Low risk of terrorist attacks.

General risk of terrorist attacks.

Significant risk of terrorist attacks.

High risk of terrorist attacks.

Severe risk of terrorist attacks.

Don't Panic
If the threat level increases it is not a reason to panic. Find out what's going on by listening to the news on the radio or television. If there is an emergency in your area you will be informed about what to do. If you want to be better prepared, the Department of Homeland Security has compiled a list of measures people should take in order to prepare themselves in each of the different stages of the alert system. Please click on the following link and review each of the different color-coded phases. Preparing yourself in each of the alert system’s colors could assure safety in the event of an emergency.

Department of Homeland Security
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=29

For more info contact:
Public Health Preparedness
(617) 534-2333 (phone)
(617) 534- (fax)
php@bphc.org
1010 Massachusetts Ave - 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02118