A color-tagged structure is a structure which has been classified by a color to represent the severity of damage or the overall condition of the building. The exact definition for each color may be different in different countries and jurisdictions.
A
"red-tagged" structure has been severely damaged to the degree that the structure is too dangerous to inhabit. Similarly, a structure is
"yellow-tagged" if it has been moderately damaged to the degree that its habitability is limited (only during the day, for example). A
"green-tagged" structure may mean the building is either undamaged or has suffered slight damage, although differences exist at local levels when to use a green tag.
Tagging is performed by government
building officials
Building officials of developed countries are generally the jurisdictional administrator of building and construction codes, engineering calculation supervision, permits, facilities management, and accepted construction procedures.
Qualification ...
, or, occasionally during disasters, by engineers deputized by the building official.
Natural disasters such as
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
s,
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
s and
mudslides are among the most common causes of a building being red-, yellow- or green-tagged. Usually, after such incidents, the
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...
body responsible for enforcing the building safety code examines the affected structures and tags them as appropriate.
In some areas of the United States, buildings are marked with a rectangular sign that is red with a white border and a white "X". Such signs provide the same information as "red-tagging" a building. Tagging structures in these ways can warn
firefighters and others about hazardous buildings before the buildings are entered.
References
Building engineering
Structural engineering
Disaster management tools
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