Health emergencies

Pandemics and infectious disease 

Infectious diseases can cause epidemics and pandemics such as Covid-19 and influenza. 

For information on Covid-19, visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) Victoria | Better Health Channel 

For information on influenza, visit Influenza (flu) | Better Health Channel.

Thunderstorm asthma

Thunderstorm asthma can occur if a large number of people develop asthma symptoms over a short period of time, due to high grass pollen in the air and a specific kind of thunderstorm. It most often happens from October to December, and can occur in people who have never had asthma.  

If you have experienced asthma, or springtime hay fever, you are at risk of thunderstorm asthma. You can talk to your doctor about how to protect yourself. 

You can also protect yourself by: 

• staying indoors during a thunderstorm and the winds that precede it 
• closing doors and windows 
• turning off air conditioning systems that bring in air from outside 
• taking any preventative medication as directed, even when you have no symptoms 
• using the VicEmergency app to get advice and warnings about potential thunderstorm asthma events. 

For more information about thunderstorm asthma, visit Thunderstorm asthma | Better Health Channel.