WEB
EXTRA!The color-coded terror threat alerts of the Homeland Security Advisory System have become part of the nation's collective consciousness in the two years since their introduction. Here's how the Department of Homeland Security defines the levels.
Code Green and Code Blue reflect low risk and guarded risk for terror threats, respectively, and call for routine protective measures. Such measures are cumulative and are stepped up as the warning level increases. In a nutshell, here is what the top three levels of terrorist threat mean:
Yellow -- elevated risk: Federal departments and agencies are urged to take specific protective measures, such as increasing surveillance of critical locations, coordinating emergency plans with nearby jurisdictions, and implementing contingency and emergency response plans.
Orange -- high risk: Protective measures may include coordinating security efforts with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, the National Guard, or other armed forces; taking additional precautions at public events and considering alternative venues or cancellation; and restricting access to threatened facilities to essential personnel.
Red -- severe risk: Protective measures include increasing or redirecting personnel to emergencies; mobilizing specially trained teams; monitoring, redirecting or constraining transportation systems; and closing public and government facilities.
To read more about the advisory system, go to http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=29.
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