New Naming Convention for EAS Event Codes

The FCC Report and Order which became effective May 16, 2002 establishes naming conventions for the new and future EAS event codes. In most cases, and for all future codes to be approved, the third letter of all hazardous state and local event codes is will be limited to one of four letters:

The existing event codes for Tornado Warning (TOR), Severe Thunderstorm Warning (SVR) and Evacuation Immediate (EVI) will not be changed to conform to this naming convention.

A WARNING is an event that alone poses a significant threat to public safety and/or property, probability of occurrence and location is high, and the onset time is relatively short.

A WATCH meets the classification of a warning, but either the onset time, probability of occurrence, or location is uncertain.

An EMERGENCY is an event that, by itself, would not kill or injure or do property damage, but indirectly may cause other things to happen that result in a hazard. For example, a major power or telephone loss in a large city alone is not a direct hazard, but disruption to other critical services could create a variety of conditions that could directly threaten public safety.

A STATEMENT is a message contaning follow up information to a warning, watch, or emergency.