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Departments > Victoria Emergency Management Agency QuicklinksVictoria Emergency Management AgencyThe Victoria Emergency Management Agency (VEMA) is the City of Victoria's resource for helping our community prepare for an emergency. Responsible for training City staff and coordinating an emergency response in the event of a disaster, VEMA also educates and empowers Victoria citizens on how to be "emergency prepared." Learn more. To receive helpful emergency preparedness tips and information, "Like" us on Facebook. 
FREE Emergency Preparedness WorkshopsVictoria is due for a major earthquake. Are you ready for the big one? Register for a free workshop this fall to learn how you and your family can better prepare to cope up to three days in the event of an earthquake, including how to safely store drinking water, put together emergency supply kits for your home and vehicle, and prepare a family reunification plan. Learn more. Call for VEMA VolunteersAre you calm under pressure? Want to assist your community in an emergency? Volunteer with the Victoria Emergency Management Agency (VEMA), the City of Victoria's resource for helping our community to be "emergency prepared." Learn more. Prepare Victoria! Campaign Wins International AwardThe Victoria Emergency Management Agency (VEMA) has won a first place IAEM Global Public Awareness Award for its Prepare Victoria! campaign at the International Association of Emergency Managers 2011 Global Awards Competition. Learn more. Recipe for Disaster Series
Prepare at Home [PDF - 549KB] Many people think an emergency will never happen to them, but emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere. Victoria gets its share of weather events such as windstorms and snow, which can disrupt power or make transportation difficult. We're also due for a major earthquake in the next 50 years and need to be prepared for at least three days with no assistance. Don't wait for an emergency to happen. Learn what you need to include in your Emergency Kit at home, at work, and for your pet. Check out our Recipes for Disaster. Emergency Contact Card - NEW!During Emergency Preparedness Week, the City of Victoria launched an easy to use Emergency Contact Card to help loved ones reunite after an earthquake or other disaster. Family Meeting Places The size of a business card, on one side, the Emergency Contact Card enables family members to note down a pre-determined, easy to identify, walkable daytime and evening meeting place. 
Choose an accessible open space to meet, rather than a building that may be damaged after an earthquake. Keep in mind that bridges and roads may be blocked, so choose a walkable family meeting place. Remember to update your family meeting places in the event you move. Out-of-Province Contact The other side of the card asks for an out-of-province contact name and phone number that all family members are to call after an earthquake or disaster. If phone systems are damaged, it may be easier to access an out-of-province line than a local line. It will be important to keep your conversation short, let your contact know how and where you are, and when you'll check-in again. Also, make sure you can leave a voice message at this phone number. If you're unable to call, ask someone to call for you. Your out-of-province contact will help connect your family after a disaster. 
An earthquake or other disaster can happen at anytime. That's why it's important that family members carry their Emergency Contact Card with them at all times. Around Town Emergency Contact Cards are available at Victoria City Hall, the Crystal Pool and Fitness Centre, the central library, and at Victoria community and seniors centres. Make sure to pick up a card for each of your family members. Online Version The Emergency Contact Card is also available as a fillable PDF form. Complete the card by typing in information on your computer, select to print double-sided, and cut the cards to fit your wallet.
Free Emergency Preparedness WorkshopsLearn what hazards can affect us in Victoria, what you need to do to be prepared for an emergency, and how to build your own emergency preparedness kit at a free Emergency Preparedness Workshop. Learn How to Protect Yourself from a TsunamiTsunamis are rare, but dangerous events. Our greatest chance of a damaging tsunami will follow a major earthquake occurring in the subduction zone off Vancouver Island. A strong earthquake in the Victoria area may also generate a local tsunami. What to DoLocal earthquake - If you live or work in a tsunami hazard zone and are experiencing a strong earthquake, you should move to high ground immediately and return only after local emergency officials advise that it is safe to do so. Distant earthquake - Tsunamis originating some distance away in the Pacific Ocean may not be preceded by a "felt earthquake" in Victoria. When a warning from a distant tsunami is issued, local emergency officials have time to notify citizens, close to beaches and low-lying areas. In Victoria, tsunami waves caused by distant earthquakes may impact the same coastal properties that are regularly affected by serious winter storms. For information on tsunami risks in Greater Victoria, click here - [PDF 168KB]. For a map of specific areas at risk of a tsunami in Greater Victoria, click here - [PDF 2.3MB]. Emergency Preparedness Week (First Week of May)Emergency Preparedness Week (EP Week) is designed to raise awareness of the importance of having an emergency kit and making an emergency plan. This annual event takes place across Canada each year during the first full week of May. Victoria has a 32% probability of a damaging earthquake in the next 50 years. It's not a matter of "if" an earthquake will happen, but "when". We need to get better prepared before the next big earthquake and know how to protect ourselves when it happens. In addition to having an emergency kit to help you and your family cope for a minimum of three days after a disaster, families need to be able to reconnect with one another when local phone lines, power and transportation may be interrupted. Chances are family members won't be together during an earthquake. Contact UsDo you have a question? An idea you want to share? Do you have a real life story you have lived related to a community emergency or disaster? We would like to hear from you. Please contact us at: 250.920.3373 Victoria Fire Station #1
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