diff --git a/core/event.c b/core/event.c
index 1e296be93..dd5551761 100644
--- a/core/event.c
+++ b/core/event.c
@@ -102,3 +102,17 @@ bool same_event(const struct event *a, const struct event *b)
 		return 0;
 	return !strcmp(a->name, b->name);
 }
+
+extern enum event_severity get_event_severity(const struct event *ev)
+{
+	switch (ev->flags & SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_MASK) {
+	case SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_INFO:
+		return EVENT_SEVERITY_INFO;
+	case SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_WARN:
+		return EVENT_SEVERITY_WARN;
+	case SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_ALARM:
+		return EVENT_SEVERITY_ALARM;
+	default:
+		return EVENT_SEVERITY_NONE;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/core/event.h b/core/event.h
index 90f36fe54..31eca87fc 100644
--- a/core/event.h
+++ b/core/event.h
@@ -12,6 +12,13 @@
 extern "C" {
 #endif
 
+enum event_severity {
+	EVENT_SEVERITY_NONE = 0,
+	EVENT_SEVERITY_INFO,
+	EVENT_SEVERITY_WARN,
+	EVENT_SEVERITY_ALARM
+};
+
 /*
  * Events are currently based straight on what libdivecomputer gives us.
  *  We need to wrap these into our own events at some point to remove some of the limitations.
@@ -46,12 +53,12 @@ extern void free_events(struct event *ev);
 extern struct event *create_event(unsigned int time, int type, int flags, int value, const char *name);
 extern struct event *clone_event_rename(const struct event *ev, const char *name);
 extern bool same_event(const struct event *a, const struct event *b);
+extern enum event_severity get_event_severity(const struct event *ev);
 
 /* Since C doesn't have parameter-based overloading, two versions of get_next_event. */
 extern const struct event *get_next_event(const struct event *event, const char *name);
 extern struct event *get_next_event_mutable(struct event *event, const char *name);
 
-
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/core/eventtype.cpp b/core/eventtype.cpp
index 90c1c7b09..dbe0157bc 100644
--- a/core/eventtype.cpp
+++ b/core/eventtype.cpp
@@ -9,10 +9,12 @@
 
 struct event_type {
 	std::string name;
-	int flags;
+	event_severity severity;
 	bool plot;
-	event_type(const struct event *ev)
-		: name(ev->name), flags(ev->flags), plot(true)
+	event_type(const struct event *ev) :
+		name(ev->name),
+		severity(get_event_severity(ev)),
+		plot(true)
 	{
 	}
 };
@@ -21,7 +23,7 @@ static std::vector<event_type> event_types;
 
 static bool operator==(const event_type &en1, const event_type &en2)
 {
-	return en1.name == en2.name && en1.flags == en2.flags;
+	return en1.name == en2.name && en1.severity == en2.severity;
 }
 
 extern "C" void clear_event_types()
diff --git a/profile-widget/diveeventitem.cpp b/profile-widget/diveeventitem.cpp
index 9b2b8213b..0de81c454 100644
--- a/profile-widget/diveeventitem.cpp
+++ b/profile-widget/diveeventitem.cpp
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ struct event *DiveEventItem::getEventMutable()
 
 void DiveEventItem::setupPixmap(struct gasmix lastgasmix, const DivePixmaps &pixmaps)
 {
+	event_severity severity = get_event_severity(ev);
 	if (empty_string(ev->name)) {
 		setPixmap(pixmaps.warning);
 	} else if (same_string_caseinsensitive(ev->name, "modechange")) {
@@ -82,12 +83,8 @@ void DiveEventItem::setupPixmap(struct gasmix lastgasmix, const DivePixmaps &pix
 			else
 				setPixmap(pixmaps.gaschangeEAN);
 		}
-#ifdef SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_SHIFT
 	} else if ((((ev->flags & SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_MASK) >> SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_SHIFT) == 1) ||
 		    // those are useless internals of the dive computer
-#else
-	} else if (
-#endif
 		   same_string_caseinsensitive(ev->name, "heading") ||
 		   (same_string_caseinsensitive(ev->name, "SP change") && ev->time.seconds == 0)) {
 		// 2 cases:
@@ -98,14 +95,12 @@ void DiveEventItem::setupPixmap(struct gasmix lastgasmix, const DivePixmaps &pix
 		// that allows tooltips to work when we don't want to show a specific
 		// pixmap for an event, but want to show the event value in the tooltip
 		setPixmap(pixmaps.transparent);
-#ifdef SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_SHIFT
-	} else if (((ev->flags & SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_MASK) >> SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_SHIFT) == 2) {
+	} else if (severity == EVENT_SEVERITY_INFO) {
 		setPixmap(pixmaps.info);
-	} else if (((ev->flags & SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_MASK) >> SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_SHIFT) == 3) {
+	} else if (severity == EVENT_SEVERITY_WARN) {
 		setPixmap(pixmaps.warning);
-	} else if (((ev->flags & SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_MASK) >> SAMPLE_FLAGS_SEVERITY_SHIFT) == 4) {
+	} else if (severity == EVENT_SEVERITY_ALARM) {
 		setPixmap(pixmaps.violation);
-#endif
 	} else if (same_string_caseinsensitive(ev->name, "violation") || // generic libdivecomputer
 		   same_string_caseinsensitive(ev->name, "Safety stop violation")  || // the rest are from the Uemis downloader
 		   same_string_caseinsensitive(ev->name, "pO₂ ascend alarm")  ||