Hazards: What you need to know

Take the time to understand what you need to know about the specific emergencies that VICSES are involved with. Select from the hazards below to learn more about how you can plan and stay safe in specific situations:

Victoria has many flood-prone communities with thousands of homes, properties and businesses at risk of flooding. Floods cause more damage per year in terms of dollars and lives lost than any other natural hazard in Australia. Flooding can happen at any time of the year.

Storms can happen anywhere, at any time of year and are often accompanied by strong winds, large hailstones and lightning

Landslides happen often in Victoria. Large landslides are most common after bushfires or flash flooding.

The Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) is the control agency for earthquakes in Victoria, which means that we are responsible for planning for earthquakes and for managing responses if an earthquake does occur.

Even though the overall tsunami risk to Victoria is lower than many other parts of the world, a tsunami may still impact the Victorian coast. The largest tsunami to affect Victoria in recent times occurred in May 1960 after a 9.5 magnitude earthquake in Chile.

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