With the increased risk of storms and higher levels of rainfall, continuing to the end of the year, VICSES Gippsland is urging local communities to download the VicEmergency app onto their smartphones.

“The app is like a one stop shop for information across all emergency situations”, said Russell Wilmott, Manager Regional Operations – Emergency Management for East Region.

“The watch zones are a really handy function and they can also help you to keep an eye on what is happening near your loved ones who may not live close to you”.

Watch zones can be set up in the app which makes it easy to receive notifications and warnings for any emergencies that are occurring within that watch zone.

As handy as this app might be, it is important to know of other ways you can source emergency information if technology fails, your phone battery goes flat or you are out of mobile phone range.

You should always use more than one channel to seek information about emergencies. You should not rely on an official warning to act. Emergencies can start quickly and threaten you within minutes.

Finally, last week has shown us, power outages do occur. A number of communities in Gippsland were without power for almost an entire week. To keep connected and informed, make sure you have power banks and portable chargers on hand. Selecting a radio that doesn’t rely on electricity means you can still access important information even when the power is out.

Note: even with COVID-19 restrictions in place, DHS have confirmed you can leave your home if you are impacted by an emergency. We saw that with some people who were affected by recent storm events and impacted by the associated access to power and water. Think about where you would go, how you would get there and plan for that now.

Call VICSES on 132 500 for emergency flood and storm assistance. Call triple zero if life threatening.

Visit www.ses.vic.gov.au/get-ready for more information.