In March of 2002, the White House issued Homeland Security Directive which established five threat conditions for possible terrorist attack.

GREEN = LOW
BLUE = GUARDED
YELLOW = ELEVATED
ORANGE = HIGH
RED = SEVERE

Across the country questions of "What does a condition 'yellow' mean to my family? or What does this mean to a business, school or local government?" remained. The American Red Cross has recognized the need and developed a set of recommendations for the following areas:

* Individuals
* Families
* Neighborhoods
* Schools
* Businesses