The initiative came about after the February 2009 bushfires, when it was suggested that the community should have access to information relating to emergency events through a single, integrated website. This was also a recommendation of the Victorian Flood Review, endorsed by the Victorian Government.
The Community Emergency Information Website trial, emergencyvic.info, was launched in December 2011 and will run to April 2012, when the content, design, layout and functionality and feel will be evaluated. There is a feedback function built into the website to capture feedback as the trial progresses, and the community is encouraged to use the site and leave feedback.
The website is designed to provide near real time information about a range of emergencies attended by agencies including SES, CFA, MFB and DSE. It will also display information from other sources including social media updates and images taken from CFA’s FireReady app.
Emergencyvic.info does not contain community warnings and does not replace the agencies’ websites during the trial; emergency service organisations’ websites continue to be the primary source of emergency information and warnings. It's important to remember that websites are just one source of information for the community. Emergency services agencies continue to use other communication tools to inform the community, such as the media, emergency broadcasters, social media and through the formal warning systems in place.
When the trial concludes, an evaluation of feedback will be conducted to determine the next steps with emergency services agencies and government. In the long term, a single integrated website could address the issue of community members having to go to multiple websites for information.
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