For current emergency warnings and incident information go to Vic Emergency (External link)
Understanding Warnings
You should never wait to receive an official warning before you leave. Fires can start quickly and threaten homes and lives within minutes.
Warnings are issued when a fire has started and you need to take action.
Make sure you understand the three levels of warnings and what they mean. The three levels of warnings are
- Advice
- Watch and Act
- Emergency Warning
Don't expect warnings to be issued in any particular order. The first warning you could get could be an Emergency Warning.
There are 3 different levels of warnings:
Advice
- An incident is occurring or has occurred in the area
- Access information and monitor conditions.
Watch and Act
- An emergency is developing nearby.
- You need to take action now to protect yourself and others.
Emergency Warning
- You are in imminent danger and need to take action now.
- You will be impacted.
Additional messages that may be issued are:
Advice - Threat is reduced
- Emergency activity in the area has subsided and is no longer a danger to you.
- Threat is reduced.
Community Information
- Can be used as notification that an incident has occurred but there is no threat to community.
Prepare to evacuate / evacuate immediately
- An evacuation is recommended or procedures are in place to evacuate.
- Under the Australian Warning System, any evacuation orders are now aligned within these 3 levels of warning as action statements - Prepare to Evacuate and Evacuate Immediately.
- When an evacuation is in place, it will be represented on the VicEmergency map (External link) and list with the above icon.
