The Australian Warning System is a national, consistent system developed to warn people about potentially dangerous incidents in their communities.
It's a set of standardised, colour-coded symbols that state emergency services and local councils use to communicate information and instructions during floods, fires, storms, extreme heat, severe weather.
The Australian Warning System (AWS) has three levels:
- Advice (yellow) — There is a hazard in your area. There is no immediate danger. Stay informed, the situation could change.
- Watch and Act (orange) — There is a threat to lives and properties. Conditions are changing. Take action to protect yourself and your family.
- Emergency Warning (red) — This is the highest warning level. You are in danger. Take action immediately. Any delay will put your life at risk.
Yellow, orange and red icons for each hazard are used for the warnings on all state and territory emergency agency websites, apps and social media pages.
What you should do
Each warning has a call to action or instruction that tells you what you should do at the current threat level — e.g. "Advice: Stay Informed", "Watch and Act: Prepare to Leave" or "Emergency Warning: Leave Now".
The instructions will change depending on the threat to lives and homes and the type of emergency such as fire, flood, storm or other hazards.
Australian Fire Danger Rating System
The Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) gives you an idea of how dangerous a fire could be if one starts in your area.
The AFDRS is the same wherever you are in Australia, and it can help you understand how dangerous the weather conditions are, the level of threat to your safety and what you need to do to stay safe.
You can read more about the AFDRS and watch a video explainer on the ABC Emergency site.