How and Why Does The Alert Flags System Work?

When there is an emergency in your house in the middle of the chaos after a natural disaster, can you afford to NOT be able to get help?

This simple system is quite intuitive, as is the meaning of each flag. The resident or even a first responder can mark a house or building with the appropriate flag to indicate to everyone who sees it if there are any immediate needs. The meaning of each flag is consistent with what is generally accepted:

Red – Red is the universal color for distress or emergency. Post a red flag outside of your house to tell passersby that you have an urgent and perhaps life-threatening need inside. Even people unfamiliar with the system will inherently understand that the red flag indicates that immediate action of some sort is probably being requested. Whether it is a neighbor or a first responder, you are more likely to receive immediate attention if a red flag is found hanging outside of your home.

Yellow – Yellow is generally understood to be a cautionary or warning color. It is also known as the median condition between red (distress) and green (everything’s ok). Hang a yellow flag outside if you are in need of some assistance, but the help you need is not an emergency. This tells everyone in the area that you are indeed requesting help when it’s available, but it is not as high as a priority as a house in the nearby area displaying a red alert flag. Having a yellow flag will enable first responders and good Samaritans to continue their rescue efforts elsewhere, since time is critical to saving lives.

Green– Green is known as a color indicating that everything is fine. A green flag hanging outside of your home indicates that, while there may be damage, that everything is ok. It assures all that the occupants are fine and that rescuers may bypass this building. There are no people needing medical attention in this building and there are no emergencies of any sort that need to be addressed.

This simple system will save lives. It directs the public to the ones who need immediate attention and allows such rescuers and good Samaritans to skip over houses that do not need assistance, saving them valuable time. The Alert Flags System is also an effective way of tracking which houses have already been searched and addressed and which have not. By placing a green flag outside of these buildings, no more attention needs to be given there.