alert saGovernment of South Australia

On this page you will find information about the Alert SA Mobile App. This website also provides key public safety and emergency information sources from a wide range of emergency and essential service agencies, government and community partners.

Download the Alert SA App:

Available on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Staying Informed

When staying informed of hazards, never rely on one source of information, as sometimes technology can fail during an emergency. Awareness of other information channels is important to help you stay informed during emergency events.

Stay Alert SA

Stay Alert SA Flyer graphic

Alert SA provides timely and relevant bushfire information including:

  • New Incidents, Advice, Watch and Act, Emergency Warning messages and Incident Updates for fires in your Watch Zones.
  • Total Fire Bans issued for your Watch Zones.

The Stay Alert SA flyer is available to download in the following languages

Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFRDS)

The Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) is your simplified survival tool. Its daily forecast tells you how dangerous a bushfire would be if it broke out, and what you need to do to stay safe on Moderate, High, Extreme and Catastrophic days.

Know your daily Fire Danger Rating

Fire Danger Rating What does it mean? What should you do?
MODERATE Most fires can be controlled Plan and prepare
HIGH Fires can be dangerous Be ready to act
EXTREME Fires will spread quickly and be extremely dangerous Take action now to protect your life and property
CATASTROPHIC If a fire starts and takes hold, lives are likely to be lost For your survival, leave bushfire risk areas

Fire danger ratings describe the potential level of danger should a bushfire start.

For more information, visit the CFS website.

Bushfire season

Other channels to use during the bushfire season include:

Winter season

Other channels to use during the winter season include:

For all other emergency events, such as disease outbreaks and SAPOL incidents, please refer to the relevant agency websites and social media accounts as well as listening to your local radio.

 

Alert SA Mobile App information.

The Alert SA Mobile App is an initiative of the South Australian Government and has been designed to provide timely and relevant bushfire information to communities across the state.

Providing information on incidents and warnings that are sourced directly from the SA Country Fire Service (SACFS) and the SA Metropolitan Fire Service (SAMFS), the Alert SA App displays a map and list view – with the list prioritised by closest distance to your device’s location, and allows users to create up to 10 watch zones to receive notifications for areas of interest.

You can create up to 10 Watch Zones in South Australia.

There are three simple ways to create a Watch Zone:

  • Hold down on the map – drop a pin on your selected location and tap Add Watch Zone.
  • Search from the map – tap the search button at the top of the screen, enter an address and select Add Watch Zone.
  • In the menu – select My Watch Zones and select Add new Watch Zone. From here, hold down on the map and select Confirm or Change Address.

The pop-up message Alert SA only provides notifications for incidents in SA is for information only. Select either Don't show again or OK and continue to create your Watch Zone.

TIP: You can adjust the size of your Watch Zone's radius between 5km and 50km when you create it. This means you will receive notifications for incidents within your Watch Zone's circle. Remember – if the Watch Zone is large, you are likely to receive more notifications. Although a smaller Watch Zone may mean you receive less notifications,and may not be notified about Incidents that are moving quickly.

To successfully create and save a Watch Zone, you are required to enter a Name.

Select Add to Watch List.

Once you've set a Watch Zone, you may receive notifications such as:

  • New incidents, advice or warning messages for a fire in your Watch Zone(s).
  • A change in a fire's warning level in your Watch Zone(s).
  • Total Fire Bans issued for your Watch Zone(s).

Ensure that push notifications are enabled in your phone's settings.

To choose how your phone displays Alert SA notifications, select Settings in your phone, followed by Notifications, and then tap the Alert SA icon. Here, you will be able to choose how Alert SA notifications will appear on your phone.

Once your Watch Zones are created, and push notification settings are enabled, you will receive notifications for Total Fire Bans, new incidents, Bushfire Advice, Bushfire Watch and Act and Bushfire Emergency Warnings in those Watch Zones.

The Alert SA App projects a sound upon the receipt of a notification. The type of sound is dependent on your phone's Settings and Sounds. Check your device's / Apps sound settings, in addition to your notification settings so that your App is setup correctly and notifying you of bushfire activity.

This can be done through your notification settings to enable notifications to appear on a locked screen, in your notification centre or as a banner. To receive a notification with sound, please check your phones Settings and under Notifications ensure the Alert SA app is set to Allow Notifications with Sounds On. Check your device's volume is loud enough for you to hear your notifications.

Keep in mind that you must create a Watch Zone(s) in order to receive any notifications relevant to that area. You can have 10 watch zones up to 50km in size. If you need assistance in checking your settings, please email Alert SA and provide information on what Apple or Android device you are using.

Sound notifications are determined by your individual device. To learn more about customising notification sounds on your device, please contact your service provider directly.

If you receive notifications without sound, please check your phone's Settings - and under Notifications ensure the Alert SA app is set to Allow Notifications with Sounds On. Check your device's volume is loud enough for you to hear your notifications. The type of sound will be dependent on what has been selected through your phone's Settings and Sounds.

Creating a Watch Zone(s) allows you to receive notifications for the chosen areas such as:

  • New incidents, advice or warning messages for a fire in your Watch Zone(s).
  • A change in a fire's warning level in your Watch Zone(s).
  • Total Fire Bans issued for your Watch Zone(s).

If you did not receive a notification, it may be that the incident or warning message is outside of your Watch Zone's boundary. You may wish to adjust the size of your watch zone, or create an additional watch zone, to capture an area experiencing bushfire activity and receive the associated notifications.

Ensure push notifications are enabled in your phone's settings. To choose how your phone displays Alert SA notifications, select Settings in your phone, followed by Notifications, and then tap the Alert SA icon. Here, you will be able to choose how your notifications will appear on your phone.

If you turn off your notifications for Alert SA, you will not receive any notifications, including important Warning notifications. If you still wish to turn off your Alert SA notifications, select Settings in your phone, followed by Notifications, and then tap the Alert SA icon. You can toggle your notifications for this App on and off.

If you are receiving too many notifications, you may wish to consider reducing your number of Watch Zones or the size of your Watch Zones radius. Remember – if you have a large Watch Zone, you are likely to receive more notifications. Having a smaller Watch Zone may mean you receive less notifications, however, you may not be notified about Incidents that are moving quickly.

South Australia implemented the new national warning symbology in coordination with other Emergency Services agencies and jurisdictions, including Victoria, the ACT and New South Wales. For more information about these warnings, visit the CFS website.

The below table provides an overview of each icon and their meaning within an emergency context:

Emergency Warning icon Emergency Warning
An Emergency Warning is the highest level of bushfire warning. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately. Any delay now puts your life at risk.
Watch and Act icon Watch and Act
There is a heightened level of threat. Conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family.
Advice icon Advice
A fire may pose a threat to property or public safety. Check and follow your Bushfire Survival Plan and decide what you will do if the situation changes. Look and listen for information on the TV, radio, internet, social media, mobile phones and by speaking with neighbours.
Incident icon Incident
A fire has started. Continue to stay up to date in case the situation changes.
Incident Update icon Incident Update
Additional information related to an incident beyond that contained in a structured advice or warning message. An example might be in a protracted fire event where recovery centre of evacuation centre information is required.

 

If there is a Total Fire Ban in your Watch Zone, Alert SA will send you a notification on the evening prior to and morning of the Total Fire Ban.

During the Fire Danger Season (generally from November through to April) you can find the Fire Danger Rating for the State's 15 Fire Ban Districts by selecting Fire Danger Ratings from the Alert SA App menu.

The Alert SA App shows the last time information was refreshed at the bottom of the screen. Each Warning and Incident also has a timestamp showing the last time the information was updated. Incidents at Emergency Warning level are updated frequently. Watch and Act messages are updated several times throughout the day, or as the situation changes.

Some Incidents, such as those with Advice messages, or fires which have been burning for some time but not causing any threat, may be updated less frequently. Alert SA provides users information as frequently as possible, based on the information being provided by the Agency attending the Incident(s).

The Alert SA App focuses on bushfire events and does not provide information regarding road closures. To access data on roadworks, incidents and planned events in South Australia please visit the Traffic SA website.

The Alert SA App is available for iPhone and Samsung devices.

  • For iPhones, Alert SA is supported on releases 12.1 and above.
  • For Androids, releases AOS 6.X and above are supported.

Please note, while users are able to download Alert SA onto Android AOS 4.X (and lower) devices, the App is unsupported and will not function correctly, displaying a 'No Network connection' error.

If you have an older device, or a device other an iOS or Android, you can still access bushfire information through the A Country Fire Service (CFS) and SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) websites and set them as bookmarks or icons on your device.

The Alert SA App is available for iPhone and Samsung devices.

  • Ensure you have the most up to date version of the App. You can check this through your App store.
  • Watch the instructional videos below with helpful tips on getting started with Alert SA and creating Watch Zones.
  • Ensure you are connected to Wi-Fi or are using mobile data. Always be mindful of internet usage when accessing the Alert SA App. Speak with your service provider for further details.
  • Ensure your sound is turned on and the volume is loud enough for you to hear your notifications.
  • Enable 'Push Notifications' in your phone's settings.
  • Enable 'Location Services' in your phone's settings.
  • Delete and re-download the App.

If you continue to have issues with the Alert SA App, please email Alert SA.

 

 

Emergency Information Sources

Bushfire

SA Country Fire Service

The SA Country Fire Service (CFS) is the primary provider of bushfire firefighting services across the state.

Bushfire Hotline: 1800 362 361

Flood

State Emergency Service

The SA State Emergency Service (SES) is the primary provider of flood rescue services across the state.

SES assistance: 132 500

Extreme Weather

State Emergency Service

The SA State Emergency Service (SES) coordinates the state's response to extreme weather events.

SES assistance: 132 500

Human Disease

SA Health

SA Health is the primary agency in South Australia responsible for responding to severe infectious disease outbreaks, such as a flu pandemic or food poisoning.

Health Direct: 1800 022 222

Animal & Plant Disease

Primary Industries and Regions SA

Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) manages the risks posed by animal and plant pests and diseases in South Australia.

Urban Fire

South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS)

The South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) is the primary provider of structural firefighting services to the State of South Australia.

Terrorism

South Australia Police

The South Australia Police are the Control Agency for Terrorism in South Australia.

Police Assistance: 131 444
Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000

Essential Service Disruptions

Services essential to the community can be impacted at any time. These include:

Transport

Services essential to the community can be impacted at any time. These include:

For all further hazard information please visit:
www.sa.gov.au/topics/emergencies-and-safety

Emergency triple zero logo

In a life threatening emergency, always dial Triple Zero (000)