etl-lt-v2.0-pr01

The OASIS Open Event Terms List – Lookup Table is a resource that has been developed with the aim of enhancing interoperability among digital alerting systems. It features structured entries for seamless integration with CAP-based systems, and can be adapted for non-CAP-based systems as needed. The table provides universal terms and codes to support processing agents in managing CAP alerting messages within interconnected systems. This OASIS Open work product ensures a consistent approach across such systems adaptable to any identified event-type.

A companion resource, the OASIS Open Event Terms List – User’s Guide, outlines how agents should manage and interpret OASIS terms and codes in CAP messages during distribution. It emphasizes that the OASIS terms and codes can seamlessly coexist with existing local or domestic sets used by alerting agencies.

A second companion resource, the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Concept Guide, discusses the theory of events worthy of being alerted, while a third companion document, the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Spectrum Analysis, examines event naming, emphasizing social science principles and the alerting agency's need to communicate effectively with its audience.

The list of OASIS Open terms and codes is evergreen and backwards compatible, allowing for seamless updates and the addition of new entries as requested by its users.

This is a Non-Standards Track Work Product. The patent provisions of the OASIS IPR Policy do not apply.

This document was last revised or approved by the OASIS Emergency Management TC on the above date. The level of approval is also listed above. Check the "Latest stage" location noted above for possible later revisions of this document. Any other numbered Versions and other technical work produced by the Technical Committee (TC) are listed at https://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=emergency#technical.

TC members should send comments on this document to the TC's email list. Others, including all resource users, should send comments to the TC's public comment list, after subscribing to it by following the instructions at the “Send A Commen to this TC” linked page on the TC’s web page at https://www.oasis-open.org/committees/emergency/.

Event Terms List – Lookup Table v2.0. Edited by Rex Brooks, Norm Paulsen and Thomas Wood.

Introduction

The OASIS Open Event Terms List – Lookup Table is a key resource for improving interoperability in alerting systems. By offering a standardized set of event-type references, it helps different systems process and manage alert-worthy event information consistently.

The Event Terms List was created by the Emergency Management Technical Committee (EMTC) of OASIS Open to address concerns raised by the Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC) of the American Red Cross. The GDPC identified inconsistencies in event term usage within Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) services, which made it difficult to compare messages from different sources. These inconsistencies complicated the interpretation of language and meaning across CAP messages.

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) is a widely recognized XML data standard that enables seamless communication of alerting information among different partners. The XML aspect of CAP defines the format and structure of messages, while individual agencies dictate the content. This design improves format and structure interoperability, however, it can lead to non-standard content variations making cross-partner comparisons challenging. The OASIS Open Event Terms List – Lookup Table seeks to address some of this challenge by standardizing event-types in CAP.

CAP-XML allows for multiple interpretations of events and event types within a single CAP message. This means that universal event terms and codes, like those from the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Lookup Table, can be included alongside local or domestic event terms and codes. Having both ensures that messages remain relevant to the local audiences of alerting agencies while supporting the broader interoperability concerns across larger and globally-based collaborating systems. The OASIS Open Event Terms List enhances interoperability by enabling receiving systems to accurately interpret event-types in CAP messages, even when they originate from foreign-language sources.

The Emergency Management Technical Committee (EMTC) actively encourages CAP originators and consumers to adopt the Event Terms List approach, as covered in the OASIS Open Event Terms List – User’s Guide, to enhance interoperability in business-of-alerting systems. Organizations like the GDPC stand to benefit from these efforts of improved interoperability.

1.1 Executive Summary

The OASIS Open Event Terms List (ETL) consists of four key resources designed to enhance interoperability within digitally connected alerting systems:

Collectively, these documents provide a comprehensive framework for alerting professionals and policymakers, helping them effectively manage and optimize event-based information in the business-of-alerting.

The Event Terms List – Lookup Table serves as a reference for terms and codes, enabling seamless communication between alerting systems. Its primary goal is to assist practitioners in developing and operating efficient systems that effectively connect with both partners and audiences. Additionally, the accompanying discussions within the document provide valuable insights, enhancing understanding, and promoting implementation of event-based alerting strategies. The Event Terms List – Lookup Table highlights two essential attributes of event-type information:

This approach ensures standardization while still allowing the use of local or domestic terms and codes, maintaining relevance for specific local audiences while promoting broader interoperability on the global scale.

The Event Terms List – Lookup Table further enhances its utility by organizing and classifying OASIS Open event terms into Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) categories and OASIS subcategories. This is a structured approach, aiming to provide valuable insights for policymakers, helping them navigate event-type information more effectively while making more informed decisions.

To effectively apply the terms and codes within the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Lookup Table, refer to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – User’s Guide, which provides detailed instructions on implementation.

For a deeper understanding of event characteristics - including their nature, impacts, location, timing, and behaviors - consult the Event Terms List – Concept Guide.

Lastly, if looking for an in-depth exploration of event naming conventions and the social sciences influencing those decisions, the Event Terms List – Spectrum Analysis offers valuable insights.

How to use this Resource?

The Event Terms List – Lookup Table serves as a resource for originating CAP alerting agencies, helping to determine which OASIS Open event terms and codes to include in the alert messaging process. The typical process consists of a series of messages that address a concerning and often hazardous situation, with each message requiring a clearly defined subject of discussion at the time of publication. In CAP, the subject is an event, and the Event Terms List – Lookup Table is a list of event-types covering a large number of types that could be used in the alerting process.

The process involves reviewing the list of OASIS Open event types and selecting the most relevant entries from the second column of the provided table for optional use in CAP messages. Additionally, the corresponding event-type codes from the first column should also be gathered, however, these are highly recommended by OASIS Open to be used in CAP messages in support of the objective of interoperability ¹.

If no suitable term is available, the event term “other” (code OET-000) should be selected and the code incorporated into the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) message. In such cases, practitioners are encouraged to contact OASIS Open to request the addition of a new term to add to the OASIS Open list for future use, ensuring continued improvements in event-type standardization. For the “new terms and codes” submission process, refer to the later section on Submitting Content within this resource.

Version Compatibility

The versioning of the OASIS Open Event Terms List follows the principle of backward compatibility, ensuring consistency across published updates. Newly added terms receive new unique codes, while existing terms retain their codes through subsequent versions.

OASIS Open recommends that all CAP practitioners migrate to and use version 2.0 or later of the OASIS Open Event Terms List (as published) to prevent interoperability issues and confusion caused by the two incompatible 1.X versions as noted above.

Public Review Version ⁴

This version of the OASIS Open Event Terms List – User’s Guide is a Public Review version. In this version all feedback will be collected and reviewed, including suggestions for additional entries for the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Lookup Table. It has a watermark of “Draft” that will be removed after the Public Review process is completed.

Additionally, feedback on any new entries, or any category and subcategory mappings will also be collected and reviewed. The new entries are not yet considered final. They will be assigned codes after the Public Review Process has been conducted.

Suggestions, comments, and questions, can be on any content, including the usage of terms and codes as discussed in the OASIS Open Event Terms List – User’s Guide. Each feedback item may be used to adjust the final release copies of the OASIS Open Event Terms List family of resources (as applicable).

OASIS Open plans to publish a set of resources in roughly the following order as a best effort exercise with no set timeline: ⁵

At the end of this publish cycle, all documents in the family of OASIS Open Event Terms List resources will be at v2.0 with the Lookup Table advancing to v2.1 or greater (as additional terms are collected during the Public Review process through submissions). All version 2.X resources will be jointly compatible as a package, with the resources anchored to version 2.0.

OASIS Open Event Terms List

The OASIS Open Event Terms List - Lookup Table is a compiled list of event-type terms. Each term describes a type of happening, that if one should occur, it will be marked with a beginning and end. In the business-of-alerting, an event is a happening, as devised and formed by an observer agent for the business, and as it pertains to the process of signaling third parties about the happening.

For each entry in the list, OASIS Open has mapped the term to one or more CAP categories (as outlined in the OASIS Open CAP standard). In preparation for this mapping assignment, OASIS Open created a definition for each of the standard CAP categories so that current and future mappings are consistently applied across all terms.

The mapping exercise involves interpreting an event term for what it is (i.e. its nature), and making a determination of which CAP categories typically apply to its nature. The exercise is subjective (open to interpretation), with the mappings provided in the lookup table meant only as suggestions for practitioners.

The mappings are not assumed to be a complete and comprehensive accounting for alerting agencies, especially those with specific mandates, or those targeting specific audiences. For example, a weather based event-type would likely be mapped to the CAP category of “Met”, not “Transport” or “Safety”, even though the alerting agency’s mandate might solely be based on a “Transport” or “Safety” concern. Subsequently, alerting agencies are encouraged to use the OASIS Open mapped CAP categories as suggestions, with the understanding that they are typical of agencies alerting the general public.

Therefore, OASIS Open recommends alerting agencies undergo a mapping exercise to compile their own CAP categories per event-type as per their operating mandate. The process would be similar to the OASIS Open process that was used for more general audiences. If the operating mandate of the alerting agency is a public mandate, the OASIS Open mappings should make for a good starting point for any mapping exercise.

The OASIS Open list also includes a set of defined subcategories to help with the mapping exercise. The OASIS Open subcategories were devised to help CAP practitioners better understand the OASIS Open mapping assignments.

OASIS Open Term Confirmation and Mapping Process

The confirmation of event terms in the OASIS Open event terms list, and the mapping process of terms to CAP Categories and to OASIS Open subcategories, follows the methodology outlined here ⁶.

CAP Categories and OASIS Subcategories

The CAP category and OASIS subcategory definitions, as generated by the OASIS Open EMTC, are as follows:

Geophysical

Geophysical: Geophysical subject events are events related to the substances, properties, and physical processes that make up the Earth and its surrounding space environment. These events involve natural or human-caused phenomena that originate from the Earth's internal dynamics or external interactions with space and is most associated with rocks and seismic activity.

Meteorological

Meteorological: Meteorological subject events are events connected to the atmosphere or weather.

Safety

Safety: Safety subject events are events connected to the condition of being protected from unintentional dangers, risks, or injuries. Events in this category pose an immediate threat to the safety of life and property.

Security

Security: Security subject events are events connected to the condition of being protected from intentional and/or premeditated dangers, risks, or injuries.

Rescue

Rescue: Rescue subject events are events connected to the act of saving someone (or something) from a dangerous or distressing situation.

Fire

Fire: Fire subject events are events connected to the conditions of combustion or burning, fueled by solids, liquids, gases, metals, oil and fat, or electricity, combining chemically with oxygen to give off heat, bright light, and/or smoke.

Health

Health: Health subject events are events connected to the state of the physical, mental, and social well-being of living organisms.

Environmental

Environmental: Environmental subject events are events connected to the natural world and its effects, living and nonliving, which influence the condition of life.

Transport

Transport: Transport subject events are events connected to the conveyance of people or cargo by means of a vehicle or apparatus created for that purpose.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure: Infrastructure subject events are events connected to the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.

CBRNE

CBRNE: CBRNE subject events are events connected to the dangerous consequences of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive matter.

Other

Other: Other subject events are events connected to any event not covered by the CAP Categories already cited.

OASIS Event Terms List – Terms and Codes

The list of event terms is presented with the following information in 5 columns:

OASIS Event Code: a codified value assigned to the event term entry. The code is backwards compatible to the formally published version 1.0 list of the OASIS Open event codes.

OASIS Event Term: a worded value assigned to the event term entry. The entry is backwards compatible in meaning to the previously published version 1.0 list of OASIS Open event terms, however, the exact event term wording may have been updated to make it describe an actual event ¹⁵ ¹⁶.

OASIS CAP Categories: a mapped set of CAP Category values assigned by the EMTC to the event term entry, delimited by the return character, resulting in one entry per line per table cell. Note: Capitalization for these values are as per the reference OASIS CAP standard v1.2 ¹⁷.

OASIS Subcategories: a mapped set of OASIS Subcategory values assigned by the EMTC to each corresponding CAP Category value, delimited inline by the comma character, resulting in one or more entries per line per table cell. If the given term is applicable to every subcategory, the CAP category value is re-listed to save space and indicate that all subcategories apply. The terms are not capitalized as they are snippets of text, not proper names or full sentences.

Source Index: a mapped set of values indexing the entry to the following table that indicates the source of the term. All future submitted terms would come with a new or existing source index into the following table.

Existing Entries from v1.0

New Entries for v2.0

Indexed Source (Individual or Group)

OASIS Open Event Code	OASIS Open Event Term	OASIS Open CAP Categories	OASIS Open Subcategories	Source Index Number
OET-000	other	Other	other	1
OET-001	accumulating ice	Meteorological	precipitation	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial
OET-002	active shooter	Security	law enforcement, life	1
Safety	life
OET-003	administrative action	Infrastructure	(all)	1
OET-004	air hazard	Environmental	airborne	1
Transport	air
OET-005	poor air quality	Environmental	airborne	1
Health	physical
OET-006	stagnant air	Environmental	airborne	1
Health	physical
OET-007	aircraft crash	Transport	air	1
Rescue	(all)
OET-008	aircraft incident	Transport	air	1
Infrastructure	transport
OET-009	airport closure	Transport	air	1
Infrastructure	transport
OET-010	airspace closure	Transport	air	1
OET-011	airspace restriction	Transport	air	1
OET-012	ambulance issue	Transport	ground, air, overwater	1
Infrastructure	response
OET-013	animal disease issue	Health	fauna	1
OET-014	animal feed issue	Health	fauna	1
OET-015	animal health issue	Health	fauna	1
OET-016	arctic outflow	Meteorological	temperature, wind	1
OET-017	ashfall	Meteorological	visibility	1
Environmental	airborne
Transport	air
OET-018	avalanche	Geophysical	gravity	1
OET-019	aviation hazard	Transport	air	1
Infrastructure	transport
OET-020	aviation security issue	Transport	air	1
Security	law enforcement, life, property
OET-021	beach hazard	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
OET-022	biological hazard	CBRNE	biological	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
OET-023	blizzard	Meteorological	temperature, precipitation, visibility, wind	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-024	blood supply issue	Health	physical	1
CBRNE	biological
Infrastructure	response
OET-025	blowing dust	Meteorological	visibility, wind	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-026	blowing snow	Meteorological	visibility, temperature, wind	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-027	blue-green algae issue	Environmental	aquatic	1
Health	physical, flora
OET-028	bomb threat	CBRNE	explosive	1
Security	Security
OET-029	bridge closure	Transport	ground	1
Infrastructure	transport
OET-030	bridge collapse	Transport	ground	1
Infrastructure	transport
OET-031	building collapse	Infrastructure	other	1
OET-032	building structure hazard	Infrastructure	other	1
OET-033	bush fire	Fire	burn, suffocation	1
Environmental	terrestrial
OET-034	cable service issue	Infrastructure	communication	1
OET-035	canal issue	Environmental	aquatic	1
Infrastructure	transport
OET-036	chemical fire	CBRNE	chemical	1
Fire	(all)
OET-037	chemical hazard	CBRNE	chemical	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
OET-038	chemical smoke	CBRNE	chemical	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
OET-039	child abduction	Security	law enforcement, life	1
OET-040	civil issue	Security	law enforcement, life property	1
OET-041	civil protest	Security	law enforcement, life property	1
OET-042	coal gas issue	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
CBRNE	chemical, explosive
OET-043	coastal flood	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
OET-044	cold hazard	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial, airborne
OET-045	cold weather	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-046	communications service disruption	Infrastructure	communication	1
OET-047	contagious disease	CBRNE	biological	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
OET-048	contaminated water	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
Environmental	aquatic
OET-049	contamination issue	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
OET-050	criminal activity	Security	law enforcement, life, property	1
OET-051	cybercrime threat	Security	law enforcement, property	1
Infrastructure	communication
OET-052	cyclone	Meteorological	precipitation, visibility, lightning, wind	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-053	dam break	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
Infrastructure	utility
OET-054	dam issue	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
Infrastructure	utility
OET-055	dangerous animal	Security	law enforcement	1
Safety	(all)
OET-056	dangerous person threat	Security	law enforcement, life, property	1
OET-057	debris flow	Environmental	aquatic	1
Geophysical	fluid, gravity
OET-058	demonstration	Other	other	1
OET-059	dense fog	Meteorological	visibility	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-060	dense smoke	Meteorological	visibility	1
Environmental	airborne
Health	physical, fauna
Fire	suffocation
OET-061	diesel fuel issue	Infrastructure	transport	1
Transport	(all)
OET-062	disease	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
OET-063	disease outbreak	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
OET-064	drought	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
Environmental	terrestrial
OET-065	drug safety issue	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
Infrastructure	response
OET-066	drug supply issue	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
Infrastructure	response
OET-067	dust storm	Meteorological	visibility, wind	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-068	dyke break	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
Infrastructure	utility
OET-069	earthquake	Geophysical	seismic	1
Environmental	terrestrial
OET-070	electronic infrastructure issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-071	emergency responder incident	Infrastructure	response	1
OET-072	emergency responder threat	Infrastructure	response	1
Security	law enforcement
OET-073	emergency support facilities incident	Infrastructure	response	1
OET-074	emergency support services incident	Infrastructure	response	1
OET-075	emergency telephone outage	Infrastructure	response, communication	1
OET-076	environmental issue	Environmental	(all)	1
OET-077	explosion threat	CBRNE	explosive	1
Security	(all)
OET-078	falling object	Geophysical	gravity	1
OET-079	fire	Fire	(all)	1
OET-080	flash flood	Environmental	~~aquatic~~, terrestrial	1
OET-081	flash freeze	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial, airborne
OET-082	flood	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
OET-083	fog	Meteorological	visibility	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-084	food contamination	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
OET-085	food safety issue	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
OET-086	food supply issue	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
OET-087	forest fire	Fire	(all)	1
Environmental	terrestrial
OET-088	freeze	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial, ~~airborne~~
OET-089	freezing drizzle	Meteorological	temperature, precipitation	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial, airborne
OET-090	freezing rain	Meteorological	temperature, precipitation	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial, airborne
OET-091	freezing spray	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	aquatic, ~~terrestrial~~
OET-092	frost	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	~~aquatic~~, terrestrial, ~~airborne~~
OET-093	fuel issue	Infrastructure	transport	1
Transport	(all)
OET-094	geophysical issue	Geophysical	(all)	1
OET-095	grass fire	Fire	(all)	1
Environmental	terrestrial
OET-096	hail	Meteorological	temperature, precipitation	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial, airborne
OET-097	hazardous seas	Environmental	aquatic	1
Transport	overwater, underwater
OET-098	health issue	Health	(all)	1
OET-099	heat hazard	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial, airborne	1
Meteorological	temperature
OET-100	heating oil issue	infrastructure	utility	1
OET-101	high seas issue	Environmental	aquatic	1
Transport	overwater, underwater
OET-102	high surf	Environmental	Aquatic	1
Transport	overwater, underwater
OET-103	high tide	Environmental	aquatic	1
Transport	overwater, underwater
OET-104	high water	Environmental	aquatic	1
Transport	overwater, underwater
OET-105	home crime	Security	law enforcement	1
OET-106	humidity issue	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	terrestrial, airborne
Health	physical, fauna, flora
OET-107	hurricane	Meteorological	precipitation, visibility, lightning, wind	1
OET-108	ice	Meteorological	temperature	1
OET-109	ice pressure issue	Transport	overwater, underwater	1
Meteorological	temperature
OET-110	ice storm	Meteorological	(all)	1
Environmental	terrestrial, airborne, aquatic
OET-111	iceberg	Transport	overwater, underwater	1
Environmental	aquatic
OET-112	industrial crime	Security	law enforcement, life, property	1
Infrastructure	industrial
OET-113	industrial facility issue	Infrastructure	industrial	1
OET-114	industrial fire	Infrastructure	Industrial	1
Fire	(all)
OET-115	infrastructure issue	Infrastructure	(all)	1
OET-116	internet service issue	Infrastructure	communication	1
OET-117	lake effect snow	Meteorological	temperature, precipitation	1
Environmental	aquatic
OET-118	lake wind	Meteorological	wind	1
Environmental	aquatic
OET-119	landline service issue	Infrastructure	communication	1
OET-120	landslide	Geophysical	gravity, solid	1
OET-121	law enforcement issue	Security	law enforcement	1
OET-122	levee break	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
Infrastructure	utility
OET-123	lightning	Meteorological	lightning	1
OET-124	limited visibility	Meteorological	visibility	1
OET-125	low tide	Transport	overwater, underwater	1
Environmental	aquatic
OET-126	low water	Transport	overwater, underwater	1
Environmental	aquatic
OET-127	low water pressure	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-128	meteoroid	Environmental	space	1
OET-129	meteorological issue	Meteorological	(all)	1
OET-130	missile threat	CBRNE	explosive	1
Security	military, life, property
OET-131	missing child	Security	law enforcement, life	1
OET-132	missing person	Security	law enforcement, life	1
OET-133	mobile communication issue	Infrastructure	communication	1
OET-134	monsoon	Meteorological	precipitation	1
Environmental	airborne, aquatic, terrestrial
OET-135	mudslide	Geophysical	gravity, fluid	1
OET-136	natural gas utility issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-137	network message	Infrastructure	communication	1
OET-138	nuclear power plant issue	CBRNE	radiological	1
Infrastructure	utility
OET-139	oil leak	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
Geophysical	fluid
CBRNE	chemical
OET-140	oil spill	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
Geophysical	fluid
CBRNE	chemical
OET-141	overland flood	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
OET-142	pipeline rupture	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
Geophysical	fluid
Infrastructure	utility
OET-143	plant health issue	Health	physical, flora	1
OET-144	heavy rain	Meteorological	precipitation	1
OET-145	pollen	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-146	potable water issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-147	power outage	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-148	power utility issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-149	product safety issue	Safety	(all)	1
OET-150	public facility issue	Infrastructure	other	1
OET-151	public health issue	Health	(all)	1
OET-152	public service issue	Infrastructure	other	1
OET-153	public transit issue	Infrastructure	transportation	1
Transport	(all)
OET-154	pyroclastic flow	Geophysical	seismic, gravity, gas	1
OET-155	radiation issue	CBRNE	radiological	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
OET-156	radio transmitter issue	Infrastructure	communication	1
OET-157	radioactive material release	CBRNE	radiological	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
OET-158	radiological fire	CBRNE	radiological	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
Fire	(all)
OET-159	railway issue	Infrastructure	transport	1
Transport	ground
OET-160	rain	Meteorological	precipitation	1
OET-161	rapid ice closing of water passage	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	aquatic
Transport	overwater, underwater
OET-162	red tide	Health	physical, fauna, flora	1
Environmental	aquatic
OET-163	rescue issue	Rescue	(all)	1
OET-164	retail crime issue	Security	law enforcement	1
OET-165	rip current issue	Environmental	aquatic	1
OET-166	road closure	Infrastructure	transportation	1
Transport	ground
OET-167	road issue	Infrastructure	transportation	1
Transport	ground
OET-168	road vehicle accident	Infrastructure	transportation	1
Transport	ground
OET-169	rogue wave	Environmental	aquatic	1
Transport	overwater, underwater
OET-170	safety issue	Safety	(all)	1
OET-171	sandstorm	Meteorological	wind, visibility, lightning	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-172	satellite debris	Environmental	space	1
Geophysical	gravity
OET-173	satellite service issue	Environmental	space	1
Infrastructure	communication
OET-174	school bus issue	Transport	ground	1
OET-175	school closing	Infrastructure	other	1
OET-176	school lockdown	Infrastructure	other	1
Security	law enforcement
OET-177	search	Rescue	search	1
OET-178	security issue	Security	(all)	1
OET-179	sewer issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
Health	physical
OET-180	shoreline threat	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
OET-181	sinkhole	Environmental	terrestrial	1
OET-182	sleet	Meteorological	temperature, precipitation	1
Transport	ground, air
OET-183	smoke	Meteorological	visibility	1
Environmental	airborne
Fire	suffocation
OET-184	snow	Meteorological	temperature, precipitation	1
OET-185	snowstorm	Meteorological	temperature, precipitation, wind, lightning	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-186	space debris	Environmental	Space	1
OET-187	space weather	Environmental	Space	1
~~Geophysical~~	~~electromagnetic~~
OET-188	squall	Meteorological	wind, precipitation	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-189	storm	Meteorological	wind, precipitation, lightning, visibility	1
OET-190	storm drainage issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-191	storm surge	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
OET-192	structure fire	Infrastructure	(all)	1
Fire	(all)
OET-193	swells	Environmental	aquatic	1
OET-194	telephone issue	Infrastructure	communication	1
OET-195	terrorist incident	Security	law enforcement, life, property	1
OET-196	thin ice	Meteorological	temperature	1
Environmental	aquatic
Transport	overwater
OET-197	thunderstorm	Meteorological	wind, precipitation, visibility, lightning	1
OET-198	tornadic waterspout	Meteorological	wind, precipitation, visibility, lightning	1
Environmental	airborne, aquatic
OET-199	tornado	Meteorological	wind, precipitation, visibility, lightning	1
OET-200	toxic plume	CBRNE	Chemical	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
Environmental	airborne
OET-201	toxic spill	CBRNE	chemical	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial
OET-202	traffic issue	Infrastructure	transport	1
Transport	(all)
OET-203	transport issue	Infrastructure	transport	1
Transport	(all)
OET-204	tropical depression	Meteorological	wind, precipitation, visibility, lightning	1
OET-205	tropical storm	Meteorological	wind, precipitation, visibility, lightning	1
OET-206	tsunami	Geophysical	seismic, fluid	1
Environmental	aquatic
OET-207	typhoon	Meteorological	wind, precipitation, visibility, lightning	1
OET-208	ultraviolet radiation	CBRNE	radiological	1
Health	physical, fauna, flora
OET-209	utility issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-210	vehicle crime	Security	law enforcement, property	1
OET-211	volcanic activity	Geophysical	seismic	1
OET-212	volcanic eruption	Geophysical	gravity, seismic	1
Fire	(all)
OET-213	volcanic lahar	Geophysical	gravity, seismic	1
Fire	(all)
OET-214	volcanic lava	Geophysical	gravity, seismic	1
Fire	(all)
OET-215	waste management issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
Health	physical
OET-216	water utility issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-217	water main break	Infrastructure	utility	1
OET-218	waterspout	Meteorological	wind	1
Environmental	aquatic, airborne
OET-219	weather issue	Meteorological	(all)	1
OET-220	wildfire	Fire	(all)	1
Environmental	terrestrial
OET-221	wind issue	Meteorological	wind	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-222	wind change	Meteorological	wind	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-223	wind chill	Meteorological	wind, temperature	1
Environmental	airborne
OET-224	wind shear risk	Meteorological	wind	1
Environmental	airborne
Transport	air
OET-225	winter storm	Meteorological	(all)	1
OET-226	winter weather issue	Meteorological	temperature	1

OASIS Open Event Code	OASIS Open Event Term	OASIS Open CAP Categories	OASIS Open Subcategories	Source Index Number
will start at 227 when this new list is finalized	accident	Other	other	1
	acid rain	Meteorological	precipitation	2
Health	physical, fauna, flora
CBRNE	chemical
	air search	Rescue	search	1
	aircraft issue	Infrastructure	transport	1
Transport	air
	algal bloom	health	physical, flora	1
	anti-venom issue	Infrastructure	response	1
Health	physical
	armed conflict	Security	(all)	2
	atmospheric depression	Meteorological	pressure	2
Environmental	airborne
	black ice	Meteorological	temperature	4
Transport	ground
	blood supply contamination	Health	physical	1
Infrastructure	response
	blood supply shortage	Health	physical	1
Infrastructure	response
	boil water	Safety	(all)	1
Health	(all)
	building fire	Infrastructure	other	1
Fire	(all)
	carbon clouds	Health	physical, fauna, flora	2
CBRNE	chemical
Environmental	airborne
	catastrophe	Other	other	1
	CBRNE issue	CBRNE	CBRNE	1
	coastal hazard	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	3
	cold wave	Meteorological	temperature	2
	communication issue	Infrastructure	communication	1
	crisis	Other	other	1
	crop hazard	Health	physical, flora	1
	danger	Other	other	1
	data breach	Security	property	2
Infrastructure	Other
	derecho	Meteorological	wind	2
	disaster	Other	other	1
	downburst	Meteorological	precipitation, wind	2
	drone conflict	Security	(all)	1
	drowning hazard	Environmental	aquatic	1
	dry spell	Environmental	terrestrial	5
	dzud	Meteorological	temperature	2
	earth avalanche	Geophysical	gravity	1
	electrical storm	Meteorological	precipitation, wind, lightning	2
	emergency	Other	other	1
	epizootic issue	Health	fauna	4
	erosion issue	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	2
	estuarine flood	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	2
	evacuation	Safety	(all)	1
	explosion	CBRN	explosive	1
	extra-tropical cyclone	Meteorological	precipitation, visibility, lightning, wind	2
Environmental	airborne
	falling debris	Geophysical	gravity	1
	fauna issue	health	fauna	1
	find shelter	Safety	(all)	1
	flora issue	health	flora	1
	fluvial flood	Environmental	terrestrial	2
	fuel issue	Infrastructure	transport, utility, other	1
Transport	(all)
	fumes	Health	physical	4
Fire	suffocation
	geomagnetic storm	Environmental	airborne, space	2
CBRNE	radiological
	glacial lake outburst flood	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	2
	ground gases	Geophysical	gas	2
	ground search	Rescue	search	1
	ground shaking	Geophysical	seismic	2
	groundwater flood	Environmental	terrestrial	2
	hazard	Other	other	5
	haze	Meteorological	visibility	2
Environmental	airborne
	heat wave	Meteorological	temperature	2
	high temperature	Meteorological	temperature	3
	hijacking	Security	military, government, life, property	4
	hoar frost	Meteorological	temperature	2
	ice-jam flood	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	2
	inlet migration	Environmental	aquatic	1
	insect plague	Health	physical, fauna	4
Environmental	terrestrial, airborne
	insect swarm	Safety	(all)	1
	invasive species issue	Health	physical, fauna, flora	2
Environmental	terrestrial, aquatic
	ionospheric storm	Environmental	airborne, space	2
CBRNE	radiological
	liquefaction	Geophysical	fluid	2
	locust swarm	Safety	(all)	1
	low temperature	Meteorological	temperature	3
	malware issue	Security	property	2
Infrastructure	other
	marine hazard	Environmental	aquatic	3
	medication issue	Infrastructure	response	1
Health	physical
	mud flow	Geophysical	gravity	2
	near-earth object	Environmental	space	2
	nuclear explosion	Security	(all)	1
CBRNE	nuclear, explosive
	nuclear fallout	CBRNE	nuclear, explosive	1
Health	(all)
	nuclear fuel issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
CBRNE	nuclear
	nuclear threat	Security	(all)	1
CBRNE	nuclear, explosive
	nuclear weapon attack	Security	(all)	4
CBRNE	nuclear, explosive
	odour nuisance	Health	physical, emotional, social	4
Fire	suffocation
	overwater search	Rescue	search	1
	paramilitary attack	Security	military, government, life, property	4
	plant disease	health	flora	1
	polar low	Meteorological	temperature, pressure	2
	police strike	Security	(all)	1
	ponding flood	Environmental	terrestrial	2
	poor visibility	Meteorological	visibility	1
	power cable issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
	public panic	Health	physical, emotional, social	1
Security	law enforcement
	radio blackout	infrastructure	communication	2
	rain flood	Environmental	terrestrial	3
	riot	Security	law enforcement	1
	rising water	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
	rock slide	Geophysical	gravity	2
	rockfall	Geophysical	gravity	2
Safety	(all)
	sand haze	Meteorological	visibility	2
Environmental	airborne
	seiche	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	2
Safety	property
	self-identify	Security	law enforcement, life, government	1
	sewage issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial
	sewage treatment issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial
	shelter in place	Safety	(all)	1
	showers	Meteorological	precipitation	1
	slipperiness issue	Safety	(all)	4,5
	snow avalanche	Geophysical	gravity	1
	snowmelt flood	Environmental	terrestrial	2
	solar storm	Environmental	space	2
CBRNE	radiological
	space hazard	Environmental	space	2
	stay clear	Safety	(all)	1
	sub-tropical cyclone	Meteorological	precipitation, visibility, lightning, wind	2
Environmental	airborne
	supply chain issue	Infrastructure	(all)	2
	surface fissure	Geophysical	seismic	2
	surface rupture	Geophysical	seismic	2
	surface water flood	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	2
	take action	Other	other	1
	test	Other	other	1
	thaw	Meteorological	temperature	2
	thawing episode	Meteorological	temperature	4
	threat	Other	other	1
	transport issue	Transport	(all)	1
	tropical cyclone	Meteorological	precipitation, visibility, lightning, wind	2
Environmental	airborne
	undefined flying object	Environmental	airborne	4
	undersea cable issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
	unidentified animal	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial, airborne	4
	water hazard	Environmental	aquatic, terrestrial	1
	water supply issue	Infrastructure	utility	2
	water utility issue	Infrastructure	utility	1
	weather depression	Meteorological	wind, pressure	1
	wet spell	Environmental	terrestrial	5
Meteorological	precipitation
	wind gust	Meteorological	wind	1
	worker strike	Security	law enforcement	1

Event Terms in the OASIS Open Event Terms List are commonly used language terms that require no attribution, except when acknowledging the inspiration for their inclusion. The terms used were compiled from various online sources, as well as from the historical insights and experiences of the OASIS OPEN Common Alerting Protocol Subcommittee (CAP-SC) members.

Submitting Content

Source Index Number	Source
1	OASIS Open – Common Alerting Protocol Subcommittee (CAP-SC) Copyright © OASIS®
2	Bell, Frank. [Hazard Definition & Classification Review]. United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), [2020]. Copyright © UNDRR.
3	METEOALARM Website Developed by EUMETNET – the European Meteorological Services Network Copyright © EUMETNET
4	EMERGENCY WARNING SATELLITE SERVICE Common Alert Message Format Specification Copyright © European Union/Japan Cabinet Office.
5	World Meteorological Organization Copyright © World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

The submission and commenting process for making content suggestions to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Lookup Table involves accessing the following link:

[Web link] *To be provided with the OASIS Open Committee Note to be published after completion of the Public Review process of this version of the resource.

The web link form includes fields for entering proposed new event-type terms; any associated definitions; a set of proposed CAP Category mappings and OASIS-Open Subcategory mappings; as well as offering room for entering additional comments as needed.

It is recognized that some terms may have “restricted use” rights and/or “confidentiality” clauses and, as a standard course of action, the form will inquire as to the “right to provide” from the submitter (in all cases) as a formality. Common language terms, ones not copyrighted or associated with “restricted use” and/or “confidentiality”, are the preferred terms for this list ¹⁸.

Appendix A: Acknowledgments

The following individuals were members of the EMTC during the creation of this document and their oversight and guidance are gratefully acknowledged:

The CAP Subcommittee is Chaired by Jacob Westfall who has led the committee in the development of this Public Review Committee Note. The tireless efforts of Thomas Wood and Norm Paulsen supported by lead editor Rex Brooks have made this document possible. The following individuals have participated in the subcommittee creating this lookup table reference and are gratefully acknowledged:

The Committee would like to acknowledge the assistance provided to the work of the initial CN from:

For detailed instructions on how to apply these terms and codes effectively, refer to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – User’s Guide.↩︎
The OASIS Open Event Terms List that is v1.0, was a work effort that did not fully define what an “event” is prior to compiling the list of terms. Consequently, some of the terms used to describe a type of event didn’t truly meet the definition of an event as written.↩︎
Systems utilizing the earlier “November 2020” codes may continue to do so, provided the indexed version in the CAP message <eventCode> group element is identified as “v1.2”. This approach ensures consuming agencies can distinguish between codes associated with the formal “ETL v1.0” term set and the informal “made for CAP v1.2” term set that is discoverable online.↩︎
This Public Review section will be removed before the final Committee Note for v1.0 of this resource is published.↩︎
The timeframe for publishing is based on the availability of OASIS Open member volunteers for this effort.↩︎
Refer to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Concept Guide and User’s Guide for a more comprehensive discussion on the topic of CAP Category and OASIS Open Subcategory mapping assignments.↩︎
In languages other than English, positional placement of the object and descriptor portions of a term is highly variable, subject to the rules of the language in use.↩︎
Many of the italicized objects in the table may not seem to be objects on first pass, however, objects can be many things. For example, the act of “taking shelter” is an object when viewed as a specified directive. In the activity-of-alerting domain, a data construct can be generated around the act of “sheltering”.↩︎
Refer to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Concept Guide for more discussion on objects mapped to the CAP Category of “Other”.↩︎
The case of multi-layered event terms is a lengthy one. Refer to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Concept Guide for more discussion on this topic.↩︎
For the case of terms that sound like an event, however, in reality are not, refer to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Concept Guide for more discussion.↩︎
For the case of terms that suffer from wordiness, refer to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Concept Guide for more discussion.↩︎
If an event term fits with a subcategory, but does not fit with the corresponding CAP category, then the subcategory does not apply.↩︎
Since “hurricane” is a noun-adjunct, and not exclusively an adjective, it can provide a CAP category. Refer to the OASIS Open Event Terms List – Concept Guide for more discussion.↩︎
Some newer wordings have been adjusted to clarify the meaning and/or have the new term truly suggest the idea of an event instead of being a reference to a permanent or semi-permanent object.↩︎
The terms are not capitalized as they are snippets of text, not proper names or full sentences.↩︎
Capitalization of the OASIS CAP Category values is due to the reference CAP standard v1.2 capitalizing these values. Therefore, the CAP Category column in this table honors that state. The preferred format of snippets of text in lookup tables for software systems, based on the English language, is not to be capitalized; capitalization in tables should be left to proper names and full sentence entries only.↩︎
The term AMBER (an acronym for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) is equivalent to a child abduction emergency. In some jurisdictions, however, AMBER may have “restricted use” rights, and as a result, it is not included in the OASIS Open Event Terms List. Furthermore, the term is ambiguous - open to multiple interpretations. Consequently, the equally functional, yet clearer, common language alternative: “child abduction emergency”, is the term used in the OASIS Open Event Terms List. OASIS Open, does however, acknowledge the use of AMBER (as in “AMBER Alert”) as an effective example of social science in action. Over time, this term has become immediately recognizable and widely understood, particularly in local and regional jurisdictions where audiences have been conditioned to associate the term with urgent child abduction situations.↩︎

Revision	Date	Editor	Changes Made
01	09-16-2020	Norm Paulsen	First Complete Draft
02	09-23-2020	Scott Robertson	Appendix A Acknowledgments added Appendix B Event Terms added Appendix C Revision History added
03	10-28-2020	Rex Brooks	First Complete Edited Draft
04	10-01-2021	Norm Paulsen, Rex Brooks	Multiple additions Appendix A Acknowledgments edited Second Complete Edited Draft
05	01-10-2025	Norm Paulsen, Thomas Wood	First Complete Version 2.0 Draft Appendix A updated Appendix B moved to main content section Appendix C retitled as Appendix B Existing content moved out to User’s Guide and forthcoming Concept Guide New Content and Event Terms added