VicEmergency is the official Victorian Government app for emergency warnings and information. Download VicEmergency, set up a user profile and watch zones to ensure you receive official warnings and information for areas that interest you.
Watch the VicEmergency video at www.youtube.com/channel/UCskGgVGdfEp1C3BMiiwAyzQ
To review support articles or submit a request, visit http://support.emergency.vic.gov.au
Main Features:
• Live incident map showing current warnings, planned burns and other types of incidents across Victoria.***
• Simple to create a profile and use watch zones that ensure you get official warnings for your local area. Warnings and information* are pushed out to a user's phone when issued by Victoria’s emergency services.
• GPS integration to determine your current location** and surrounding incidents.
• Emergency Warnings, Warnings, Advice and information as issued by Victoria’s emergency services
• Share incidents and warnings with friends and family.
• View forecast Fire Danger Ratings on the map.
• View today's and tomorrow’s Total Fire Ban status.
* Your device must have an internet connection to receive warnings and information issued by Victorian emergency services.
** To view your current location, GPS must be switched on and location functionality enabled.
*** Map symbols represent the origin of the emergency, not its current location or spread.
The VicEmergency app is just one tool to assist you to access warnings and information about emergencies, however you should never rely on just one information channel. Emergency services use a range of other information channels including SKY TV, ABC local radio, some commercial and designated community radio stations, VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226, VicEmergency website on www.emergency.vic.gov.au and VicEmergency Twitter and Facebook.
Are you getting a message asking you to turn on notifications? You need to ensure that push notifications are enabled specifically for the VicEmergency app, as follows:
For iOS10, iOS9, iOS8 and iOS6:
1. Click on the Settings icon and then select Notifications.
2. Scroll down, click the VicEmergency icon
3. Ensure 'Allow Notifications" or "Notification Centre" (iOS6) at top of the screen is set to On.
4. We recommend that you set Alert Style as 'Banners' or Alerts' and ensure that Sounds and "Show on Lock Screen" or "View in Lock Screen" (iOS6) are set to On.
For iOS7:
1. Open the device's Settings icon and then select 'Notification Center'.
2. Under 'Access on Lock Screen', check that 'Notifications View' is On (showing as green).
3. Scroll further down and ensure that VicEmergency is in the list under INCLUDE. Click it to open it.
4. At the top, set Alert Style as 'Banners' or Alerts'
5. Then ensure that everything in this section is turned On - ‘Badge App Icon’, ‘Sounds’, 'Show in Notification Center', 'Show on Lock Screen’, etc (all should be showing as green).
I think this is a good and important app. However…I have the notifications set to the minimum for my watch zone so that I will get warning if there’s serious threat of bushfire. On a total fire ban day, I get no less than 13 almost identical notifications just to inform me that conditions are dangerous.This is a ridiculous level of notifications. You need to understand that more notifications DOES NOT lead to higher awareness. It leads to habitually ignoring ANY notifications because 99% of them are not important. It’s effectively the “Boy Who Cried Wolf” effect.If there is ever a really important safety message that I should receive in my watch zone, I will miss it simply because I’ve learned to ignore and delete notifications from this app. Or at best, ignore them at the time and scroll through them later to see if there was anything important.I actually think the amount of superfluous notifications in this app is dangerous. It encourages complacency.On a related note, there is no distinction in the app between a life threatening bushfire and a single bush that’s caught fire in the suburbs somewhere. We need to reserve the word bushfire for community level emergencies. That word needs to strike fear into the hearts of those who hear it.Seeing a notification that there’s a bushfire in my suburb, and then finding out that the incident was a small shrub that smoked a bit and a passing fireman put it out by throwing a bucket of water on it again encourages me to ignore warnings from the app as sensationalised.I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be notified of those incidents, but don’t call them bushfires. We all know the damage, fear and chaos a real bushfire can cause. Let’s not diminish the meaning of a bushfire warning by teaching people to react with “oh it’s probably nothing. It’s never anything”.
I can’t get the vic emergencies app and this one won’t let you create a watch zone
Booksaremyblood
(Not this particular app) Ridiculous that there are not older versions of vic emergencies app (a vital app in bushfire prone areas), not everyone has new phones. And who makes an emergency services app with ‘in app purchases’ for warnings, you know, because money means more than lives, or morals, it seems. With this app? YOU’RE PUTTING LIVES AT RISK BECAUSE I CANT LOG IN ON LINE THROUGH THE WEB DESPITE OPENING ANOTHER (9th time I’ve tried TODAY) ACCOUNT. This app is terrible. All I want to do is create a watch zone, so I log in, go to set a watch zone, and it asks me to log in again, and so the cycle continues. I cannot set a watch zone. Who the hell thinks this is acceptable in CATASTROPHIC FIRE CONDITIONS?!? And prior to this I have had to turn off notifications as I was getting them for things hundreds of kilometres away, making the whole point of them redundant. There needs NEEDS to be a national app, that is free, works, and is accessible to all no matter the age of their phones/ laptops etc
Not as informative or clear as NSW FiresNMe app
National App!
I live on the VIC side of the VIC/ NSW border. So to keep informed we have to monitor two apps (NSW Fires Near Me and the Vic Emergency app). The screen layout and functions on the NSW version is far simpler to follow and when you select an incident far more informative.Vic app is trying to do too much on front screen so much so that overlays make reading harder like the warning area overlays.And when you click an event the info is very limited or useless in comparison to the NSW app.If you provide an option at least for users to turn layers on and off this might make the front incident alert clearer by allowing us to turn off overlays.The most important info is where is the fire, how big is it, what has already burned, where is it headed (influence of current and coming weather), predicted spread, level of warning.Much of this could be explained or shown on the map when ticked on/off by users. That way keeping the simplified view clean. A National app would be more useful with a common layout and information. This would be better for travellers moving across states and for the many communities that live in state border regions, and for those that want to monitor impact to interstate relatives or friends. Otherwise we have to use multiple apps with different layouts and symbols - crazy in this day given the seriousness and frequency of bushfires?Fires don’t have borders!
Developer Response
Hi, Thank you for getting in touch with us to provide your valued feedback. We have passed your comments onto our developers. Kind regards,Wolf
A few suggested changes…
RachPates
Totally appreciate the app. Here’s my wish list. It all relates to the “filter” option: 1. I want to be able to set “impact area” as “permanently on”. It’s annoying having to turn it on every time I change maps or watch zones. 2. I want to be able to view wind direction and speed AND impact zone at the same time. Same issue as 1 - can I please set options “on” and they stay on and load multiple options. 3. As well as “impact area”, it would be amazing if we could see approximately where the fire front is or where there is active burning. This one may be counter productive so feel free to disregard it. But 1&2 - please!!!!
new BoM link updates.
Version 6.9.0
The developer, State of Victoria - Department of Justice, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Contact Info
Identifiers
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
State of Victoria - Department of Justice
Size
16.1 MB
Category
News
Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 15.0 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
